The Route of Fate
by Crescent.Irene
Summary: (HIATUS) To wake up one day and discover you are not who you seem and to be given a chance to begin anew, would you take it? As the flow of destiny continues to reverse in the sequence of depravity, only a miracle can account to put things back into place. Step forward, move on, and twist the tides- but will fate let things go according to plan? SI OC. (Previously "An Anomaly")
1. Chapter 1: A Twist in Fate

**Prologue  
** **A Twist in Fate**

* * *

Maybe I was too hasty in my judgement.

To perceive the world in such a narrow-minded view and deem it cruel and ruthless… that is a known fact. The wars, the discrimination, the agony, and the suffering of the innocent— all stemming from the greed and pride of those who refuse to back down.

Was it fate? A move of destiny? A road paved before our conception, our own creation, that we will all inevitably follow?

I do not know.

It would be futile to understand what there is to understand about the power and beings higher than us. It would be even more futile to try and comprehend and try to go against that power as well. But the fact remains that there exists something greater than I, greater than you, greater than all who walk upon this material and spiritual realm.

I am unsure of who I am, of who I may come to be. What awaits me is a mystery as well. Everything about myself is shrouded in uncertainty and anxiety, yet I sense of calm and assurance still washes over me.

Perhaps it is best to leave it all to fate, after all.

* * *

" _Do you even know who you are?!"_

 _Resounding echoes of fluttering and birds surrounded me as a wave of black and white swirled. I gave out a cry of surprise, covering my face with my forearms in a futile attempt of warding off the onslaught of creatures bearing around me._

" _You are nothing! His will to bring you from your own home, to bring you here, and act as his ***! You are ***!"_

" _You are wrong!" I cried out, frantic. My grip tightened around the dual swords in my hands, so tight that I was positively shaking. Shaking with anger or fear? That, I could not say._

" _Then why are you here? Who are you? An ***! An *** of this world!"_

" _No, you— you are…" I struggled to find words to respond. Everything was crashing into me; the strange memories, the lack of understanding— simple amnesia was just a lie I kept repeating to myself. A lie that even I myself started to believe in._

" _Abomination! ***! Return to your ***!"_

" _NO! STOP! I AM ***!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 1  
** **A Tale to Remember**

* * *

I awoke with a loud gasp, my eyes widening in fear and in surprise. I could hear the sound of my heart running miles per minute, the beat of it resounding in my ears. A loud ringing noise accompanied it, further confusing and disorienting me.

My vision was hazy, unclear, unfocused. Colors swirled in my sight, moving around and causing me to groan in frustration.

Out of instinct, I moved my arm. I winced and yelled out in pain as a jolt of electricity ran through my body, as if it enacted as a source of energy to snap my entire body back to movement.

I rolled to my back, only then realizing I had been crouched and positioned on my right side. I stared forward and saw patches of blue starting to settle in my vision.

"Th-the s…sky?" I croaked out, eyes widening in surprise at the sound of my own voice. It did not sound familiar, nor did it sound alright. Raising my hand from my side, I hovered it in front of my face only to find a chain firmly attached my wrist.

What?

Bolting upright, I sat up. My senses were alarmed and ringing, yelling for answers and demanding reason for what was going on. I looked around me, only to find myself surrounded by nothing but a vast land of sand. Nothing else in the horizon seemed to exist except for the sandy dunes around me and the heat of the sun above me.

"W-what?" I whispered, again shocking myself with my own voice. I looked at my body, trying to figure out if I was okay or in any way injured, but what I found out only further enhanced my confusion and dread.

My body was not my own, and how I managed to come up to that conclusion also confused me. I had pale skin, which held several light scars and ugly purple and yellow bruises. Scattered across my arms were sand and my hands were coated in leftover blood and dirt. As for my garments, I was covered in nothing but a filthy excuse of a dress, resembling more of a rag than anything else. It was dirty and torn at the edges, barely reaching below my thighs. A sash of what seemed to be part of the dress was tied around my waist, a sore attempt at trying to preserve and cover areas of the body of which shouldn't be exposed outside to the public eye.

With each movement, a clanging and jingling sound was made. Curious, I turned to my wrists and ankles, only to find it encased in thick and heavy metal chains. They were connected to each other by a what I may assume a half meter long chain which allowed movement, but restricted mobility and slowed down the body as they were heavier than lead.

Or maybe they seemed to be. I felt frail, weak, and tempted to just drop on the sand once more and close my eyes again. However, something inside of me knew that if I were to do so, I would never wake up nor would I ever be able to live to see the next day.

I didn't understand nor did I know how to comprehend. What was happening? What is this body? This isn't me! This isn't—

Wait, how do I know this isn't me? Am I not who I am?

I stared forward, trying to collect my thoughts. How was I able to think that I am not the owner of this body? In fact, how was I able to inform myself that I was somebody else?

What happened to me?

My trail of thought was broken as I heard the sound of cluttering and clashing. It wasn't a violent sound however, it did catch my attention. I turned my body towards the sound's direction and tried to take a step forward, until my uncoordinated self decided to make a comeback and trip over my own chains.

"Agh!"

I fell flat on my face, the scorching sand filling my mouth and nostrils. Quickly raising my head above the sand, I coughed several times in order to push them out of my system. With my throat being unbelievably parched prior to my epic fall of shame, coughing only seemed to worsen the pain and force myself to just swallow what little of it down my throat.

"H-help! Anybody! Please!" I cried as loud as I could, though I could've easily inferred that this would've been my normally modulated voice if my throat's condition weren't as horrible as it was.

I willed myself to stand up once more, trying my best to ignore the now evident jolts of pain on my body. Visually my body was in a condition where each movement would be as painful as treading on a road of nails barefoot, and it was exactly that same feeling as I moved. I lifted my right knee up and dug my foot into the sand, gritting my teeth as the heat of the sand and the wounds of my body started to cause immense pain and hinder my movements.

With another surge of willpower, I stood up once more and started taking small and shaky steps forward. Both my arms felt so heavy, and I would blame nothing else aside from the cuffs around me. I raised my right hand to latch onto my left shoulder, pants of exhaustion escaping my breath.

The sound grew louder and hope fluttered inside of me as I saw a small horse drawn cart near me. A smile of relief came up on my lips and I was just about to start running before I let out a yelp.

My body slumped forward and I landed on my knees, my body succumbing to fatigue and the aftermath of whatever battle it had endured before my wake. My eyes widened as the cart grew nearer and nearer, but my body refused to move no matter how much I willed it to.

'Move, move! Damn it, move already!'

My mind was racing, but it was also occupied with thoughts of fear. What if this person leading the cart was not as accepting? What if they would just leave me to die in this dessert alone, to fall into the hands of nature? Will they even bother to take a look at somebody as pitiful as myself?

Where these thoughts of degradation and self-loathing came from, I didn't know. It felt as if these were automatic and pre-programmed thoughts, as if my mind was used to coming up with these sorts of conclusions to whatever situation that arose.

I didn't have time to ponder upon it. The cart had finally neared enough where the horse was only a few feet away from me. It whinnied and raised its upper legs, a sign that it had been frightened by my presence (and honestly, it should be me more frightened as I could be tramped as easily by its hooves) and it bucked backward.

"Whoa there! What's going on?"

The masculine voice caught my attention and I raised my head up a bit higher. Looking behind the pair of horses, a man who seemed to be driving the cart was seated in front. He held the reins with both hands but dropped them as soon as he saw me.

His gaze landed on mine and I felt my heart jump. The pure shock and disbelief of my previous epiphany were nothing compared to when I matched eyes with him. Deep brown eyes that reflected the sun accompanied with a golden mop of hair, slightly tanned skin and cladded in Arabian loose clothing, a small curved dagger attached to the sash around his abdomen—

"You! Are you okay?"

I was frozen as he dropped the reins to the side and jumped off the front of the cart. As he ran near me, I suddenly felt fear shroud my body and I quickly yelped and tried to crawl away. Noting my distress, he slowed down and stopped, but making no move to return back to the cart.

"Hey, it's alright." He said, his voice now opting for a soother approach. "I won't hurt you— where are you from? The next city isn't for another 3 days on foot and 1 day in cart."

Again, I couldn't answer. My face was stuck in an expression of shock and fear, to which he must've accounted for as he tried to take a step forward.

This time I did not move away. Seeing him gulp, he took a few more slow steps towards me and knelt in front of me. I tried to move away once again, not used to being so close to a stranger— _he is no stranger, I know of him!—_ and my movement made the chains on me visible as it jingled.

His gaze went immediately to my ankles, eyes wide.

"A slave…?"

As those words left his slips, an onslaught of memories bombarded me. Whippings, canings, beatings, humiliation, degradation, nudity, raperaperaperaperape—

Before I could realize it, I started to shiver violently. I held my head with my hands, my fingers digging into my hair and gripping my skull.

"S-slave…! N-no! NO!"

My reaction snapped him from his reverie and he quickly grabbed my wrists to avoid myself from further injuring my body. I snapped out of my trance as well as his warm hands encompassed my own, holding firmly but gently.

"It's alright! It's alright, please calm down! You don't have to return to your master, you're safe!" he said, looking straight into me.

I paused and stared at him unsurely before my gaze shifted to his hold on my hands. He followed my sight's direction and quickly let go of his grip on me, his face now holding a hue of pink dusted on his cheeks.

"S-sorry." He murmured shyly, his left hand scratching the back of his head.

A few moments of silence passed before I raised my right hand towards him. He looked at me as I raised my hand before I grabbed his shoulder. He let out a cry of surprise as I leaned my weight on him, tears finally pouring down my eyes as I began to sob.

"P-please… help. Can't… Can't go b-back!" I managed to stutter out through my breakdown, holding onto his shoulder.

This time it was his turn to be speechless. He gaped at me, as if unsure on how to proceed, but when my sobs began to turn me into a state of hyperventilation and hysteria, he seemed to gather himself and his resolve.

"I understand." He said, his voice stern. "I'll help you, okay? But first, I need you to calm down. We won't get anything done if you won't calm down."

I nodded, trying to even my breathing. His hand took my own which was on his shoulder and he slowly wrapped his free arm around my body, raising me up as he stood. The chains clanged against each other, causing his eyes to harden in what I could only describe as rage.

"First we have to get those chains off you." He mumbled to himself, then looking at me.

I stared back at him, unable say anything else. It did not matter that he was holding me close or was gazing at me with intensity. What did matter was the mere fact that all these events were occurring right before my eyes and that everything was crashing down upon me. A whirlwind of emotions were racing inside of me, but nothing from my reactions outside portrayed how I truly felt inside.

A small smile graced his lips which I thought was an attempt at trying to make me feel better.

"I'll carry you to the cart, alright? I know you probably can't walk with your body in that condition, so I'll try my best not to hurt you." He said.

I nodded slowly and he seemed to acknowledge my consent. The arm that was wrapped around my body now curled underneath my legs, hooking themselves behind my knees. His other arm was curled behind my shoulders, carrying me bridal style.

My dress started to hike up and I only realized that besides the filthy clothes I wore, I was completely bear. My face quickly reddened at this realization and I quickly tried to pull down the edges of my dress, hoping that what left of my dignity could be preserved.

"What's wrong? Are you— oh! Oh, okay." He said as he also realized why I was lowering my dress. He looked forward and started to jog to his caravan, careful of trying not to trip over the chains that hung on the ground from my ankles.

He walked towards the back of the caravan, stepping onto a small wooden step attached to its base and walking inside. The caravan's inside was shaded with a dome-like tarp over it, causing it to be much cooler and more comfortable inside. Slowly, he lowered me next to a few wooden crates and onto a small mat laid out there previously.

"Here you go," he said as he gently let me down, his arms pulling away from me. I looked around the caravan, noting how bare it was and how shaded and cool it was. Aside from a large bag that was tossed to the corner near the front, four wooden crates, and a tall jug, there was not much to look at. A small sigh of relief escaped me, finally being able to rest from being attacked by the blistering rays of the sun.

He was now ruffling inside the said bag, seemingly looking for something. He pulled out an apple and a small loaf of bread before handing it out to me.

"Here, in case you're hungry." He said, smiling as he reached out the food towards me. Hesitantly, I managed to grab them. I placed the apple on my lap and took small bites from the bread. It wasn't special, it was simply bread and held no interesting flavor, but it was filling and as my body felt like it hadn't been fed in the last decade, it was enough.

"I know that you probably don't want to talk, but can you tell me your name? It might be hard to call you if I don't know who you are." He said, scratching his cheek somewhat bashfully.

I paused from eating, pondering on what should my name be. I racked my brain and tried to recall what I used to be called, but all I could get was static and blanks. Even memories of who I used to be before fainting in the desert were fuzzy and unclear.

"I-I don't… have one?" I said unsurely, my gaze still focused on the bread.

"No name? Oh…" he trailed off. He then sat down in front of me, crossing his legs and then crossing his arms over his chest. He closed his eyes, humming slightly as he began to think deeply.

I stayed quiet as he did, continuing to munch on my bread until nothing was left except for the crumbs on my hands. I turned to him, gazing at the jug behind him, expecting it to probably be filled with water inside.

"W-water?" I asked, my throat definitely parched and strained.

"Oh? Oh, right!" he said, reaching once more inside his bag and bringing out a small cup. He took a ladle as well and used it to pour water inside of it before reaching it towards me.

My eyes sparkled at the glistening liquid inside and without hesitation I took the cup. I tipped it upwards in my lips, taking generous gulps to quench the dying thirst. Within a few seconds, I finished the contents and basked in the feeling of slowly regaining my own strength.

I looked up once more and bashfully reached out the cup to him, silently asking for more.

He let out a short laugh and simply turned around. He hooked his hands around the handles of the jugs and tugged it forward, careful to not let any of the contents spill. He grunted slightly as he pushed it until it was finally in between of us and right in front of me.

He watched as I silently grabbed the ladle and continued to pour glass after glass for myself. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something, but I spared no expense on what it might've been. Hunger and thirst were all my mind could possibly think of, and even after finishing half of the water and two more apples did I finally come back to my senses and see things with more clarity.

Once I deemed myself finished, I exhaled and let my body relax. The sound of chains still echoed with each movement I made, bothering me to no extent. I scowled as I glared at my wrists and ankles and scorned their existence as they were a reminder of being bound and enslaved.

Enslaved? I was enslaved?

"Miriam?"

I looked up at him again, who had suddenly spoken after minutes of silence. He seemed to not expect my attention to fully shift to him and was taken aback himself when I stared at him in confusion.

"Ah, it's just— well, you said you had no name. I don't want to call you a slave or anything, so maybe… maybe I could call you Miriam? If that's okay with you." He said.

I stayed silent, looking at him before looking at my body. I had no recollection of who I was prior to waking up in the desert nor did I remember what kind of lifestyle I had as a person of this body. All my instincts screamed that this body was not mine, but the remaining fact that I was living in it and that it was I who was in control said otherwise. Layers of confusion thickened my senses and I couldn't respond to anything with assurance, opting for silence as the proper approach … for now.

"Okay." I said.

He smiled in relief before his eyes widened and he started to move his hands around frantically in alarm.

"Wait, this isn't me claiming you as your master! You're not my slave! I-I only gave you a name, but that doesn't mean you're indebted to whatsoever!"

This time it was my turn to be alarmed. What kind of person wouldn't be indebted to somebody who saved their life? Even if serving a person for a lifetime was a less than desirable way of living, to be indebted to him was a stroke of rare luck to be bestowed on me.

"N-no, I'm thankful." I said, my voice still a bit shaky. "You saved my life, and I want to help you… you too. I want to thank y-you for-for helping me. I would've… died if you didn't save me today."

He seemed bashful again, not realizing what his actions had resulted to. It didn't matter— in just that kind of reaction, it was easy to see what kind of person he was. Even without the prior knowledge I had of him, I doubt that I wouldn't trust such a kind person.

I smiled at him, placing my hands together and bowed slightly.

"T-thank you so much." I said softly.

He was speechless, probably not used to being thanked for. He gathered himself and smiled back, albeit a bit hesitantly probably due to the circumstances.

"It's no problem Miriam." He said, my new name rolling of his tongue smoothly.

This caused me to smile even brighter and once he saw, his cheeks dusted once more with pink.

"W-what's your name?" I asked. "I-I don't kn… know how to address you."

"My name?" he repeated. He smiled and jerked his thumb towards himself, smiling proudly as he stood up in front of me. The way he positioned himself in front of me with confidence and stood straight made him seem taller and much more grandiose.

My eyes widened as golden birds manifested around him, swirling around his body and flashing brighter and brighter. They twittered and chirped loudly, as if clapping and supporting his grand introduction.

With a confident smile, he spoke.

"My name is Alibaba Saluja, and I'm going to conquer a dungeon!"

* * *

 **[A/N:] Well, it has definitely been a long time since I've been in the writing gig.**

 **I just want to thank everybody for being patient with me and for being able to understand my absence. Also, I would like to apologize for the mistreatment and possible confusion I've caused due to not explaining this story correctly in my first attempt at creating it. I'm much better now and am willing to create this story with the proper reverence and give it the justice it deserves.**

 **Please note that this story will be heavily influenced with my own set of events and twisted to my own timeline and liking as I have already plotted a draft of ALL SEQUENCE OF EVENTS and chapters in the timeline, so do not be surprised if any characters or places or even settings are to differ extremely from the original series. Do not worry, I will not take too much of the original magic Magi has to offer, however I will be introducing more twists and turns as this story goes on.**

 **Once again, I would like to thank everybody for waiting this long. Let's start this adventure anew, shall we?**

 **~ Irene (10-23-18)**


	2. Chapter 2: To Begin Anew

**Chapter 2  
To Begin Anew  
**

* * *

"Miriam, wake up. We're here."

I slowly opened my eyes, seeing Alibaba hover beside me as he gently shook my shoulder. I looked around, still finding myself inside the cart. I looked down at my body and noticed a large blanket draped over me, covering my body and providing me warmth.

I nodded and slowly tried to sit up, wincing as stabs of pain jolted through my body. A small whine escaped me as I tried to move my legs, the bruises and wounds making it difficult to even move. Adding the heavy chains weighing me down, I was worried I might collapse again while walking. Even if I had rested enough during the trop back, I wasn't confident in my body's state to keep independent in moving easily.

"Take it easy— yeah, we really have to get rid of those chains." Alibaba said, eyeing the metal cuffs in distaste.

"Do you think… do you think you can remove it now?" I asked, tracing the chains with my fingertips which contrasted the brute tightness and merciless claim it had on my ankles.

Alibaba shook his head. "I can't break them now, but I can arrange for somebody to break it for you. It would take a few days to gain his favor, though." He trailed off, looking to the side before turning back to me. "Do you think you can hang on for a bit more?"

I nodded. "I can."

Alibaba smiled in relief and stretched his hand out in front of me. "Come on, let's get back to my place. I'm sure we can get some more rest there."

I didn't even bother to hide the smile as a swell of happiness burst through my chest. Without hesitation, I took his hand and gripped it. They were calloused and rough, but warm and soothing.

He gently pulled me up and I managed to stand without much difficulty. I took the extra blanket as I stood up and wrapped it around my waist, creating a make shift long skirt to cover my legs. Thankfully it was long enough that it cascaded down my ankles, effectively covering my chains from plain sight.

"It covered the chains on my legs, but…" I trailed off, looking at my wrists which were also confined in the metallic cuffs.

Alibaba nodded in understanding as he noted my concern. "My house isn't far from here, so we can probably brisk walk there and we wouldn't attract much attention. It's also sundown now, so everybody might be too busy to notice you in town."

I looked at him unsurely, caressing the cuffs around my wrists.

"What would happen to me if I got caught?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly. "I-I don't… I don't…"

Sensing my distress, Alibaba quickly placed his hands on my shoulders. I noticed that we were around the same height, but quickly dismissed this as he gave me a firm squeeze.

"I won't let anything happen to you." He said determinedly. "Just stick behind me and I'll do my best to cover for you."

I stared at him with unease, but I decided to push the feelings of doubt and uncertainty away. With a shaky nod, I managed to steel my resolve as well to which he smiled in response. He slipped his hands away from my shoulders which caused me to silently yearn for their warmth once more.

He turned around and took the bag and slung it over his shoulder. He walked towards the edge of the caravan and hopped off, causing it to jerk slightly and catching me off by surprise.

Alibaba looked around, scanning his surroundings and probably checking for anybody who might notice my presence. He turned back to me and beckoned me with his hand, signaling me to come forward.

"Coast is clear, Miriam. You can come out now." He said, a smile playing on his lips as he reached out his open hand for me to take.

I slowly neared the edge of the cart. Before hopping off, I reached out my hand to his. As my hand was about to make contact with his own, a sudden barrage of images flashed before my mind. A silhouette reaching his hand out then suddenly aiming for my throat, a woman who mercilessly tightened the metal collar around my neck, a pair of hands pushing head upwards forcing me to take in his—

I hesitated slightly, feeling myself shiver again. I looked at Alibaba's face and inwardly reprimanded myself. His expression contorted into one of sadness and pity, but he also seemed hurt.

Taking a deep breath to steel my resolve, I stretched my hand again and took his in my own. My heart beat started to slow as I calmed down and my fingers clasped his firmly. As I held his hand, I knelt down slightly and took a small leap forward, leaving the cart and finally touching the ground.

I gazed around me and gaped in awe. The sunset created a stunning and beautiful scenery— the skies were tinted with shades of red, orange, and yellow while birds soared above. The desert's vastness created an overwhelming horizon and the illusion of the sun setting within the earth itself, putting me in a state of momentary awe as I basked in the wonders of the scene in front of me.

Pulling my own attention from the stunning scenery before me, I then glanced at the area surrounding me. We were inside the town, however located at the inner boarder. Around me were carts similar to Alibaba's and they were all lined in a specific formation— a specific grid of ten columns and ten rows of carts were lined in one area before another set of carts were arranged in a similar order as well. Alibaba parked his cart on the outer right of the formation, allowing easy access inside the city as it led to an open alleyway to the right.

"Follow me," Alibaba said as he started walking, still holding my hand.

I gave no response, but he started walking with my hand in tow. I followed behind him, trying to keep up with his pace whilst making movements that would hopefully minimalize the sounds of the chains clinking against each other. We maneuvered inside the alleyway, turning from left to right. The houses started to look more crowded together, with buildings that used to have some space in between them starting to close in the further we walked. Despite walking briskly, Alibaba still allowed me some leeway and a few seconds to breathe every now and then. He also used this time to glance the path forward, gauging for anybody who could possibly catch us. This allowed me to take a short breather before resuming the walk to his house.

After what seemed to be an hour of walking left and right and taking a few turns, we reached a small door located in a narrow and small alleyway. Though it was kept away from the prying eyes of the public road, I realized that it was still somewhat nearby the main roads and the local pubs. If anybody were to just walk a little further from the main road of the town, they would eventually find Alibaba's place.

Alibaba inserted a key inside the small lock, turned it, and pushed the door forward. It creaked slightly as he entered and I followed behind. He closed the door behind me and once it clicked shut, we both glanced at each other. At the same time, we released a sigh of relief.

"Geez, I was kind of scared there." Alibaba admitted, looking nervous himself.

I nodded in agreement as I placed my hand on my chest, feeling the beat of my heart slow down. I closed my eyes, allowing myself a moment to just bask in the situation, then opened them once again to look around me.

Alibaba's place was small, but it looked very much like a home. There was a large rug that covered most of the floor, a rolled-up mat standing in the corner of the room (probably his sleeping mat), and a few baskets and jugs filled with fruits and water. In the right of the room there was a small makeshift fireplace. It was a simple square constructed from bricks and cement. On top of the square, a metallic grill was attached where I assumed Alibaba cooks his food as there were pots and a few ladles sitting nearby. On the left side of his room were a bunch of rope that were strewed across the room and where clothes and some other blankets hung casually.

"Sorry that it's not much," Alibaba said bashfully as he placed his bag along with the jugs and the baskets. He glanced over at his own place, his eyes tracing back to me. I saw how he looked nervous and ashamed, his body curling slightly as if he was bracing himself.

I shook my head and tried a small smile myself.

"No, i-it's fine. I find it… cozy." I said, walking forward.

As my feet brushed against the rug, I paused and allowed the soles of my feet drag along the soft fabric. I felt a bit better with the little comfort that gave me, simply basking in the smallest of joys. Having a place to stay, food to eat, and somebody who was willing to help me was more than enough and I wouldn't dare demand more than what I could get.

"O-oh, great!" Alibaba said, surprised at first but beaming as he ended his sentence. He looked overjoyed, and I mused that he must be a really kind and honest person to allow his eyes to reflect his emotions so easily like that.

He then reached over to a rectangular chest located behind the baskets and lifted its hatch. He rummaged through it for a few seconds, causing my curiosity to grow. I walked towards him, this time having no qualms against the chains brushing and creating unnecessary noise as I moved.

He noticed me moving towards him and said, "Here!" as he pulled out a piece of clothing in front of me.

I tilted my head to the side as I inspected it. It was very long and I imagined that if I wear the dress, it would probably touch around my ankles. It was a simple cream color and had no designs or anything weaved into it.

"You can use this for a while if you'd like." He said as he folded the dress neatly and settled it in front of me. I knelt down and picked it up, inspecting it closely. The fabric was thin and loose— I expect that it was made out of cotton or linen. It was very light-weight, however it was still thick enough to not act as a see-through type of clothing.

"Why do you have this?" I asked him as he pulled out a long sash which was similar in color and a few rolls of what looked to me like bandages.

"Ah… well, that's actually one of the clothing merchant's extra clothes for the slaves here in Qishan." Alibaba said carefully, his tone trying to stay even though his sheepishness was setting in. "The lord of this town ordered a bunch of clothing for them, but a few of his slaves died off before the shipment came so he ended up with more clothes than accounted for. In the end, my boss received them and tossed them to me."

I glanced at the clothing, slightly unnerved that they were originally for slaves but decided to push those thoughts away. Beggars shouldn't be choosers, and to have something new to wear aside from the rag I was covered in was way better.

I then started to unwrap the blanket around my waist, letting it loosen before I started to fold it properly. My legs were once again exposed, the bruises and wounds making a flashing appearance. The chains were still present, it's existence honestly starting to frustrate me to no end.

I then stared up and at Alibaba, watching as he continued to rummage inside the chest and bringing out several items. Now with my mind slowly adapting to the shock of everything, I started to ponder upon myself the questions that should be asked.

What was I doing here? I felt as if I didn't belong, but at the same time the reality of me being in that position proved me wrong. But it didn't feel right, to live in this world. I felt alienated even from my own body, which for some reason I felt adamant wasn't rightfully mine.

Why did Alibaba feel familiar? It's like I knew him from an instance before, however I was also sure that it was my first time personally meeting him at all. It was like a constant scene of déjà vu— like I knew this has happened before, but just wasn't sure whether I just witnessed the scene unravel or I was actually a part of it.

Who was I? Having no recollection of who I was before waking up in the desert, and yet retaining instinctive thoughts and reactions towards situations and words. The thoughts of self-loathing and depreciation felt automatic, almost like I had grown up my whole life thinking so lowly of myself. As far as I could be sure, I didn't think I thought of myself like that…

I blinked a few times, clearing myself from my own train of thoughts. I was already frustrated enough with being in this predicament, and now I was only confusing myself by wondering on questions that nobody could possibly have the answer to.

Alibaba noticed me staring into space and frowned. "Hey, you okay Miriam?"

My new name caught my attention once again, almost as if snapping me back into place.

Maybe it didn't matter who I was before waking up. Perhaps it was a case of amnesia or even a stroke of luck. I could take this as a way of beginning a new chapter of my life, a clean and blank slate. It didn't matter who I used to be; what only mattered was the present.

However, I still felt doubtful. Something inside me screamed that I was only running away from my past, despite not remembering a single thing about it. It almost felt cowardly to accept my new life as it was, simply deciding to be who somebody else and pretend nothing else happened. It didn't feel right to just settle for what I had, and it felt like I should be doing something about my identity crisis instead of just accepting somebody else's dictation of who I was.

Instead of showing the whirlwind of emotions and piles of questions adding on outwardly, I simply smiled and shook my head.

"No, nothing at all."

* * *

 **[A/N:] Greetings readers! Just a quick update as I settle into a week-long break from my studies. I initially wanted to elongate this chapter, however after several revisions, I've decided to keep it as it is.**

 **Just a heads up that this starts a year before the timeline officially kicks off, so I will be prolonging some events before the duo meet Aladdin and the whole bang starts. I want to develop Miriam slightly and drop maybe a few hints before the plot starts and hopefully encourage you to infer and create your own theories as well.**

' **Til the next update!**

 **~ Irene (10-26-18)**


	3. Chapter 3: Breaking Free

**Chapter 3  
Breaking Free**

* * *

 _I stood shakily, gripping onto my left arm where the wound was located. It was a simple bite, and yet the pain that accompanied it throbbed repeatedly, almost seeming alive. The battle was so fierce that even the rukh, which should only be visible to a Magi's eyes, started to appear and flutter around everywhere around me._

 _However, all I could focus on was the black rukh that was swirling in front of me. It was almost as if I could hear their whispers, their pain and their regret— and it hurt to listen to their stories on how they fell, on how fate had failed them, and how they'd rather go against the world then accept their destiny. The whispers slowly turned louder and louder, until they were no longer whispers but yells and screams that resounded like an entire crowd was roaring in my head._

" _Tell me, why do you fight for this world?" the man asked, his red eyes narrowing as he waved his staff around him as he spoke._

 _Instead of answering, I simply stared at him in contempt. I spat out some blood and spit that collected inside of my mouth, but never took my gaze off from him._

 _His deep chuckle of amusement served as a sign of mocking. I gripped the sword in my left hand tightly, feeling my own nails pierce into the palms of my hand._

" _You, who doesn't even realize their own existence, who only follows blindly the path set out before them. You, who cannot find a reason to breathe without the orders of others, who is weakened when burdened with reality._

 _What makes you so different from I? Do you think that because you are against me, you are in the correct path? How foolish must you be to create lies for yourself, and even believe in them wholeheartedly."_

 _Finally having enough of his mockery, I ran forward with a yell and raised my sword._

" _SHUT UP!"_

* * *

Life with Alibaba was very simple.

As I couldn't leave due to the chains on me, I was pretty much stuck staying inside all the time. This didn't bother me in the slightest though, seeing as I'd rather spend my time inside the safety of Alibaba's place rather than risk being spotted and forced into slave labor.

Alibaba worked every day, leaving early in the morning and coming back home during sunset. Whenever he came back home, he would either sport some sort of bruise or wound on his body. This concerned me a lot so I inquired multiple times about them, but he would just shake his head and simply brush me off by saying he ended up in some scuffles with people who disagreed with me. I didn't believe him for even a second.

While Alibaba was out, I tended to fixing his place. It wasn't difficult to maintain the cleanliness since it was just one room. There was a hole near the inner corner of the room that lead to the top of the house, but it didn't concern me as much. We were living in the middle of the desert so chances of experiencing rain was close to impossible. It did, however, provide for very unsavory and cold night as the wind would pass through there.

Only a week has passed since meeting Alibaba, but I've already developed a pattern of lifestyle myself. I would wake up around the same time as Alibaba (if not later) and help him prepare food. He taught me how to cook fish and some dried meat, how to make a stew off them, and how to clean the place as well. I was surprised by his knowledge in housekeeping especially since he was a male, and when I mentioned this, he just smiled sadly.

"When you live alone, you learn to deal with things like that by yourself."

It was the first time I had seen Alibaba with such a melancholic expression that it somewhat took me back, but then I had to realize that even somebody as aloof as him must've had his share of pain from the past.

The topic of removing my chains was something Alibaba stuck to. Every time I would move around or even be anywhere near his vision inside the house, his eyes would narrow down on the chains either on my arms of on my legs before he'd start to look wistfully away. I wanted so badly to ask him as well when I could get them off, but I realized that Alibaba was in no position financially to remove these chains. Also, there was the problem of who to ask to remove the chains. It was against the law in Qishan to remove a slave's chains or even touch them, as slaves were considered property and tampering on their brand of ownership was considered treason.

Qishan, as I've learned was the name of the city Alibaba resided in, was considered an Oasis City. Conveniently, it acted as pit stop for wandering travelers who would cross the desert as most of the buildings were motels, bars, and tourist sites. Aside from the residents of the town, the visitors were mostly travelling merchants or traders. Small ports of business stalls and import-exchange stations were established around the town as well. Their business usually ranged from food produce and clothing, especially since the Lord of Qishan was very keen on exchanging goods that suited mostly the needs of the town. As Qishan wasn't weather adept in producing food, exchange of clothing and food products often resulted with most meals being made using ingredients from other countries and towns.

At first, I was glad that Qishan didn't participate in slave trading officially. However, just because the town wasn't officially affiliated with slave trading didn't mean that the concept was frowned or disagreed upon on either. A number of buyers and sometimes even slave traders themselves would personally visit the town to advertise and sell their… "goods".

I have yet to witness the slave auction personally, but I doubt I would be able to stomach it. Even with no recollection of what kind of person I was, it was human common sense to share at least some kind of understanding that treating fellow human beings or even any living life like simple toys was wrong.

Whenever Alibaba would leave me to my own devices, I would start to think more and more on how to thank him. He granted me a new kind of life and a way to start over. Simply tending to his house whenever he was gone didn't sound like doing much, and seeing as he usually would mull over my condition more than necessary, I felt more like a burden rather than somebody helpful to him.

* * *

"Miriam, I'm heading out now!" Alibaba called as he slung his bag over his shoulder, holding the door knob in his hand.

I turned to him and nodded, stirring the leftover stew for myself. "Take care of yourself," I responded with a small smile.

He nodded before swinging the door open and leaving. I turned back to the stew I was stirring, my eyes fixed on the cubes of meat and vegetables that I had chopped and added inside. I raised the ladle from the stew, letting the excess drip down and tapping it on the side of the bowl before taking a small spoon from the side. I then poured a few of the contents on the spoon, filling it up and placing the spoon in between my lips. The salty yet creamy flavor of the broth filled my tongue, making me smile in satisfaction.

Feeling content with my cooking, I decided to quell the fire and weaken its strength. I grabbed a small cup of water and poured it inside the grill, watching as the fire hissed and weakened and evaporate into smoke. I then took a folding fan and pushed the smoke away, leading it towards the hole in the ceiling where the smoke seeped out and whisked itself away.

As I was pouring some of the stew onto a wooden bowl, a knock was made from the other side of the door. I froze in place, my body too shocked to move. I presumed it would be Alibaba, but he had keys to the house and wouldn't usually knock. He would just walk in.

Another knock snapped me out of my reverie. Out of instinct, my body jolted backwards and caused me to knock off some items on the table. They fell to the ground with a loud crash, effectively falling and breaking off into pieces.

"Hey! Alibaba, I know you're in there! Come out!"

I swallowed down a pitiful whimper which almost escaped my lips. Forgetting about the broken items on the floor, I quickly surveyed the room to look for a way to escape. I knew it was futile. The only way to escape was either through the door or through the hole in the ceiling, however it was impossible to reach without a ladder.

The knocking became louder and more persistent, further increasing my panic. I quickly scuffled towards the corner of the room, trying to squeeze my hands on the uneven formation of the wall's cracks to hold firmly. I then rubbed my feet on the wall as well, my make-shift skirt raising slightly to reveal the chains below.

That was the least of my worries. As my leg slipped, I then tumbled backwards and fell on my backside. I hissed in pain, my bum sore as the sudden impact potentially left a bruise.

"Master, what are you doing here?"

I swiftly snapped my head around to the door, hearing Alibaba's voice. Knowing that he was around eased my worries and I found myself releasing a sigh of relief.

"I was going to inform you about the deadline of the extra shipment of the linen and silk clothing, so I went here." Said the other person.

A hum was made. "I didn't know that, but I guess I'll have to end up switching shifts with Barden and Salta next week. They'll be heading East with some flavored fish from Sindria."

"It was an urgent report, so I had to come to you immediately. I know you took on a second job around the main market district and go there early in the morning to help with unloading and loading cargo, but I had to tell you this first."

He did what?

I continued to listen, mostly due to having no choice at all. Eavesdropping wasn't something I wanted to participate in doing, however the door wasn't as thin as I thought which allowed their conversation to easily be heard.

"By the way Alibaba, are you living with anybody else? I heard some noise inside when I was knocking."

I could feel Alibaba's and my own heart start to palpitate. There was a short pause of silence, but it was quickly dispelled as Alibaba's uneasy laugh filled the conversation.

"Really? I've been having trouble with some cats entering my house. There's a hole in the ceiling and they've been trying to steal some of the dried fish I have hung up inside."

I felt a bit irked with that reasoning, but felt that dissipate as soon as I heard a sound of understanding come from the other person.

"Ah, I see. You can try using a tarp to cover the hole."

"Actually, it provides cool ventilation for the room, but I'll think about that! Thanks for coming by Master. I'll take note of the shipment deadline too."

"Alright. Do take care Alibaba. You've been taking on more work recently and I'm starting to think you're trying to overcompensate for something you lack…"

"W-what?! Master, I am perfectly fine! I am a strong and manly person, so it's only natural that I—"

"Yes, yes, I shall take my leave now."

"Agh— don't do that! I am a reliable man!"

I covered my lips with my fingers while fighting off the urge to giggle. It was amusing how Alibaba reacted that way, and what Alibaba's "master" said also had me snickering inwardly. Perhaps teasing Alibaba could be part of my agenda when I had time.

The conversation ended and I heard the sound of footsteps slowly fade away, indicating that Alibaba's master had left the area. A sigh was released and I heard the door's lock click.

I looked up and watched as Alibaba entered the room, his forehead coated in a few drops of sweat. Using the back of his hand, he wiped it away. He turned to my gaze and stared for a few moments before he raised his hand, giving a thumbs-up alongside a goofy smile in victory.

This time I didn't hold back my giggle. What I didn't account for was my giggle to turn into full-blown laughter. This didn't just surprise me, but Alibaba as well. My laugh apparently was contagious because even Alibaba started to chuckle along with me.

Once I calmed myself down, I then frowned.

"Alibaba, why did you come back? I thought…" I said, trailing off to leave the sentence unfinished.

"I was heading to the cart barracks, but then I saw that master was heading home so I ran back as fast as I could." Alibaba explained. "I was afraid that he might find out about you, so I ran back as fast as possible."

I felt my chest lighten. It may have meant nothing to Alibaba, but to me, it felt overwhelming to be fussed over.

"He said you took another job." I stated, recalling his master's words. "Is that why you come home around sunset now?"

Caught off guard, Alibaba scratched his cheek and turned away. He seemed to think on whether to explain himself or not, so I just patiently waited for him to speak. After mulling on it for a few seconds, he let out a sigh and decided to speak.

"Yeah, I was earning some extra money." He admitted. "I wanted to get somebody to break your chains soon, so I took the extra job."

I felt my heart both flutter and break at the same time. He was working harder just for my sake? But was his second job ruthless enough to resort to him having bruises every day on his body?

"It's okay though! I've found somebody who can break your chains, so—"

"Alibaba! What's the meaning of this?!"

We both snapped our heads around, only to see Alibaba's master behind him. I gasped and felt sweat coat my forehead. Alibaba chortled in shock, his eyes wide, before he glanced back at me. His master had clearly seen me, but when Alibaba followed his gaze, he saw that his master was staring at the metal chains on my feet. Seeing the situation diffuse unexpectedly, he held up his arms to block the other man from entering the house.

"Master, why did you come back? What-"

"I-I was supposed to give you your new assignment for tomorrow, b-but…" his master trailed off as he shakily raised his hand to point at me. "Y-you have a slave… in y-your house!"

Frightened by the sudden turn in the situation, I quickly stood up on my feet and ran towards the farthest corner of the room. I held myself, feeling my body quiver violently as I stared at the two men in the entrance. Alibaba turned back to me and watched as scurried farther away, trying to make myself seem smaller amidst the confusion.

"Miriam!" Alibaba called, moving his body as if to go to me, but remembering his master in front. "She isn't harming anybody! I found her in the desert where she could've died. No master will claim her because they probably think she's dead too!"

"Do you have any idea what will happen to you Alibaba if anybody else were to find out about her?" The old man cried. "You'd be punished! Lord Jamil isn't one to be lenient, either! He hosts around a hundred slaves in his own household, so he could easily just claim her as well! She could even be part of the slave shipment meant for him. How could you be so foolish?!"

"I couldn't just leave her like that in the desert!" Alibaba yelled back. "She could've died!"

The old man shook his head, seeming exasperated.

"She's just a slave Alibaba."

The atmosphere tensed. I felt like my own life stopped once more as those words left his lips. Suddenly, another barrage of memories started to flood my mind.

" _You disgusting piece of shit!"_

" _Come here now, you know I'll always be there. I'm the only one who will take such a child like you in my arms."_

" _Yeah, you like that? Of course you do, peasant. You've got no choice either way."_

" _I'm sorry I'm sorry I'msorry—"_

I held the side of my head, feeling myself sway slightly in my stance. The onslaught of memories and the voices that screamed with them made my head pound.

"So what if she's a slave?"

I paused and looked up, seeing Alibaba's back facing me. His fists were clenched tightly, almost shaking as if he was in a rage.

"She's still a human being!" Alibaba cried out as he raised his head. I couldn't see the expression he sported, but judging from the look of surprise from his master's face, it was probably something he had never seen from Alibaba himself.

"She deserves to live normally like all of us." he continued, this time his voice softer.

"Alibaba…" his master said unsurely, glancing back and forth from me to the boy in front of him.

"Please master." Alibaba said, his voice now steadying. "Give her a chance. You did the same thing for me when I begged for work under your cart business, right? When I was still younger and couldn't live by myself, you gave me work and a place to stay, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"So give her a chance too!" Alibaba cut off, taking a step forward and causing his master to take a step backward in surprise.

The old man seemed like he wanted to say something, but as he continued to stare at Alibaba, I could see his resolve to go against his wishes crumble. I didn't know what kind of relationship Alibaba had with the old man and how they had met, but it was obvious that the old man did have a conscience and a heart if he decided to take Alibaba in.

It was dead silent with only Alibaba's huffing occupying the atmosphere. I stayed frozen in my place, unsure of how to continue on as I watched everything unfold. My mind was racing with thoughts of doubt and the fear of being sent into slave labor ran through my veins.

After what seem to be like an eternity of anticipating silence, the old man released a sigh.

"Alright."

Alibaba perked up, his body straightening as he took another step forward. "Really master? You'll do that?"

The old man grunted as he took a step back again, avoiding Alibaba from entering his personal space. "Yes, I am. I know you Alibaba; you're a very kind and hardworking man, so I'll let you off with this. But if she ever gets found out, I won't help you in defending for her."

"That's more than enough! Thank you master!" Alibaba said happily, taking the old man's hands in his own and shaking it fervently.

"Wait! But what do you plan on doing with her?" The old man asked as he turned to look at me from his place. "If you don't remove her chains, she won't be able to leave the house. Also, her clothes and her body are dead giveaways of being a slave."

Alibaba scratched his head and turned around to face me, looking unsure himself.

"I'm trying to find a way to remove the chains. I was wondering if I could ask Naker's son to break them for me…"

' _So, I won't be sent out to slave labor after all?'_ I thought as I drowned out Alibaba's and his master's conversation. My eyes then widened as this thought washed over me, hitting me like a brick in the face. Feeling myself finally calm down, I felt all the strength disappear from my body and found myself slipping forward.

Alibaba caught on to my situation and quickly ran inside. In just a few steps, he managed to catch me before my upper body could fall onto the ground.

"Miriam!" he called in concern. "Are you okay? Hey!"

I gave out a hesitant nod before suddenly wrapping my arms around his neck, digging my face into his shoulder, clinging onto him for dear life. Surprised, he simply did the same thing and held my body close as I started to shiver.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Miriam—"

"I-I won't go back to being a slave?" I asked, my voice hushed and hesitant, as if I was afraid of saying it aloud otherwise it wouldn't come true. I removed my face from his shoulder and stared up at him, my face no doubt showing my relief and my desperation.

Seeing this, Alibaba nodded. His eyebrows scrunched together as he held my shoulders once more and looked at me deeply.

"You won't. I'll make sure of it." He said determinedly.

With that look in his eyes, I had no doubt about that.

"Hm, if that's the case, I'll ask Naker's son to break the chains myself."

Alibaba and I turned to the old man, who was gazing fondly at both of us with a small smile on his face.

"W-wait, really? But the payment—!"

The old man shook his head. "You can just pay me back with your service, Alibaba. If she's going to start working as well, she has to at least be presentable enough. Maybe even more customers would feel welcome now that we have a female in the business."

I narrowed my eyes at that suggestion, but before I could continue thinking of it, Alibaba stood up.

"I'll definitely pay you back, master." Alibaba swore.

The old man nodded and released a sigh.

"Honestly, you really are a troublesome lad." He noted as he started to leave. He glanced at me for a few moments, making me feel a bit uncomfortable, but left soon afterwards.

Once he was gone, I let out a sigh of relief myself. But as I recalled his words, I suddenly straightened up and looked at Alibaba in disbelief.

"You took another job?!" I demanded, my eyes wide with surprise and perhaps a little bit of anger.

Alibaba laughed nervously. "Yeah, I did."

"Why would you do that?" I asked softly, though I already knew the answer behind it.

"So I can ask somebody to break your chains for you." He answered, adjusting his position as he sat cross-legged in front of me. "With the money I earn as a cart driver, I wouldn't be able to ask somebody to break your chains especially since they look like they've been made by a highly experienced blacksmith. At least by taking another job, I could get enough money to pay for a blacksmith I know of to break your chains. It's really expensive, but even more so because I'm going to have to ask him to do it in secret."

The feeling of guilt weighed heavy inside of me. It didn't look like Alibaba was struggling too much financially, but it was also obvious he was trying to get by himself. Even his small house was a big indicator of how much he works hard for himself, and yet all I'm doing is dragging him down needlessly.

"All I'm doing is burdening you." I stated. "Why are you going so far for my sake?"

He stared at me silently, and I squirmed lightly in my seat. Was he actually thinking of going back on his word? Or perhaps he was finally giving it a deeper thought and realizing that I could just be problematic to his living? Will he give up on me?

"Everybody deserves a second chance."

I gazed at him in shock, my mouth hanging slightly open.

Alibaba looked down, his bangs shadowing his eyes from my sight.

"I think that all of us have things in the past we can't or won't talk about." He said. "And it's fine. If we want to run away from it or if we want to move on from it, that's fine too. I just think that everybody deserves another chance to start over."

At the end of his sentence, he looked up and smiled brightly at me.

"Besides— I promised you, didn't I? I won't let anything happen to you." He said. He then raised his thumb and gestured to himself, huffing proudly.

"I am Alibaba after all!"

Just like before, I was speechless. Not only by his kindness, but also by how grounded and self-aware he was as well. I didn't know how to react to this, but the number of negative possibilities in my mind disappeared as I continued to look at him. He was smiling so bright and his words were so assuring that it also lulled me into a sense of comfort and security.

With tears of joy prickling my eyes, I nodded enthusiastically to reciprocate his feelings.

"Yes!"

* * *

" _How pitiful."_

 _I gasped, heaving for air as I tried to raise my body. The last attack had crushed some of my ribs, if not all of them. My magoi was at its peak and my body was shaking dangerously as it was in the brink of exhaustion and I could see dark spots threaten to cloud my vision._

 _With as much strength as I could possibly muster, I pushed myself off the ground and stood up. I raised my head and looked forward, glaring with all of the contempt and hatred I could fear coursing through my body. Sweat dripped down the sides of my face and blood poured out of my wounds like a water fall. My veins were popping from my body from overexerting my magoi use, but the pain of my body was nothing to me as I continued to feel my emotions take over._

 _I quickly wiped the blood trail down my lips with the back of my hand and exhaled. Closing my left fist, I then positioned my left arm beside my stomach and raised my right hand beside my head with my elbow pointing upwards. My swords were shattered and I had no weapons and magoi left to use, so this was my very last resort._

 _A low chuckle came from the man in front of me, further fueling my resent towards him._

" _Do you really think you can defend yourself from my magic in that state?" he asked, twirling his scythe around in a circular motion above him. Black rukh gathered around him to the point where they started to morph into singular shape. Lightning crackled and seeped through it, randomly striking the area around it and destroying spots on the ground._

" _Tch, bring it on you coward!" I said, swiftly running up towards him._

 _As I advanced, he stopped swinging his scythe. He raised the scythe above his head as his magic formed into a spherical shape. It shone bright, momentarily blinding me and catching me off guard as I stopped running and covered my eyes using my forearms._

" _Abomination of this world, take this!"_

 _I didn't even have time to gasp as several rods of energy shot out from the orb and headed my way. Even if I had enough time to realize that it was going to inevitably hit me and definitely kill me, my body was in no way capable of reacting in time._

 _As the bolts of lightning headed my way, I resigned to my fate and merely close my eyes and brought my arms towards my face in a futile attempt of warding the attack off. I expected the attack to crash against me, but a sudden roar and increase in heat appeared by my side, causing me to snap my eyes open and look in front of me._

 _Alibaba stood protectively in front, his left arm behind him and his right arm holding his dagger._

" _Can you still fight Miriam?" he asked, his voice low. I watched as his body panted heavily from exhaustion as well. He was in no better state than I was; his robes were tattered and ripped, his face battered and scarred, and his entire body swaying from left and right. Flames danced around his blade as the mark on its gem started to glow faintly._

 _He turned to me. His face was covered in bruises and blood dripped from two open gashes on both cheeks. He was panting heavily and seemed just on the brink of collapsing as I was, but his eyes showed no signs of resigning just yet._

 _Seeing this strengthened me as well. I steeled my resolve, positioning myself once more for combat. I knew that there was no chance of us winning; we had no magoi, no strength left, and no more options. Our opponent was stronger than both of us combined and with his magic, he would easily wipe both of us out with one attack._

 _Yet, I felt no fear. Instead, I felt confident and proud despite the circumstances._

" _Let's do this, Miriam. Now!"_

* * *

I gasped, lurching forward as I froze in my place from brooming. I held my head, feeling it start to pound again as a headache began to form.

While sudden barrages of memories were now becoming a normal occurrence, vivid flashbacks started to appear as well. However, what alarmed me wasn't just the fact that they were so detailed and appeared so realistic, but was that almost all of them included men in black cloaks and swarms of dark birds surrounding them. It was either me confronting them in battle, or them threatening and calling me names such as 'abomination' and 'outsider'.

I didn't know what they meant, but in nearly all of them I was in the midst of the fight and in a state where I was clearly losing. It wasn't clear as to why I was fighting them, but from what I saw I felt desperate to win more than anything; even at the expense of my own life.

"Miriam, look at this!"

I was snapped from my thoughts as I heard Alibaba call my name. Looking up from the batch of laundry I was folding, I watched as Alibaba entered the house, carrying an extra sack in his hand. He seemed pretty proud of himself, so I began to grow curious. He then opened up the sack, gesturing for me to look.

I peered inside the sack and gaped in awe. Two gold armlets were inside, shimmering brightly as the rays of the sun hit them. They reflected back at me and the sparkle of interest in my eyes rivalled the armlets' glimmer.

"Are those real gold?" I asked as I took them from inside the sack and gently traced it with my fingers. They were simple and very light-weight, but they were carved with intricate designs on them. The designs seemed similar to how artists would draw and portray winds in paintings, and in the middle of the design was a small red gemstone.

"Nope, they're just metal painted in gold." Alibaba replied simply. "I managed to haggle them from a merchant who stopped by for his metal artifacts, and I managed to get them for half the price! Look at them, they're really nice!"

I nodded in agreement, not taking my eyes off the armlets. "They really are! They're so beautiful."

"Good, because they're yours."

I almost dropped the circlets from surprise and looked at Alibaba, flabbergasted. I stuttered slightly, switching from glancing at the circlets in my hand to Alibaba's proud face, unsure of how to respond.

"W-what?" I asked, my voice somewhat breathless from disbelief. "This is too much! You're giving me too much."

Alibaba shook his head. "No, it's not. I just thought that all girls should have jewelry on them, you know?"

He then walked forward and took the armlets from my hands. I sputtered out slightly in protest, but silenced myself as he slid one of them through my arm, stopping as the armlet rested around the area below my shoulder. He did the same with my other arm before letting me go, walking backwards and looking at me from head to toe.

"I was right! You do look beautiful with those on!"

Whether or not he was being honest, I wasn't sure. Truthfully, I had yet to look a mirror ever since meeting Alibaba. Despite there being one present in the room, I didn't feel comfortable to know exactly how I looked like, so I covered it with an extra blanket. I didn't exactly hate myself; it was just something that I wasn't keen on learning about myself. I knew that my skin was pale and that my hair was black since it brushed against my shoulders from time to time, but I had no idea how my facial features looked like at all.

I felt my face become warm at Alibaba's compliment and rubbed the armlets tenderly, feeling the cold metal contrast with my own warm skin. Finally, my curiosity to learn what I looked like started to grow, and I began to wonder exactly what it was Alibaba saw in me to count as 'beautiful'.

I approached the mirror in the room slowly. It wasn't attached to the wall but was just leaning on it, so I had to lift it up slightly from the wall to remove the blanket I used to cover it. As I was about to pull the blanket completely off, I hesitated.

Was I ugly? Was I deformed in any way? Did I look average or did I look like anybody else would in the streets?

I closed my eyes and shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. I then gripped the blanket and pulled it off in one heave, revealing my own reflection towards me.

A woman with a very thin and slender body stared right back at me. My hair was indeed a shade of black and my eyes were sharp gray. My skin, as I had previously noted before, was very pale compared to Alibaba's tanned skin. This made the wounds, the scars, and my blush very evident. As I gazed deeper into the details of my face, it just pushed me more into disbelief. My eyes had slightly long and thick eyelashes and my lips were slightly plump. My eyebrows were thin and my nose was only a bit sharp, however retained a rather round-ish shape. My jaw was slender and shaped nicely into a rather refined heart shaped where even my messy rat's nest of a hair seemed to compliment nicely.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Was this really me?

My eyes then caught the glimmer of the gold armlets on me. Despite the plain cream rags I was wearing, the armlets seemed to have sparkled and added a glow in my overall stature. I caressed them once more with my hand, feeling it cold to the touch, and found myself smiling all over again.

Suddenly, I started to think back on all those flashbacks and memories. I had no idea what they meant at all; whether they were a premonition of the incoming future or events of the past, I could not say. The only thing I was sure of was that something was going to happen, and that I was going to become part of it.

"I'm paying you back for this." I stated out loud, looking at myself determinedly in the mirror.

Alibaba blinked, surprise. "What?"

"I said," I muttered as I turned around to face Alibaba. "I'm paying you back for this. For the kind things you did and are doing for me right now."

Alibaba gaped before speaking, "No! You don't have to, really! I did this on my own—"

"No, I want to do this." I said firmly, clenching my fists. I had no idea what those visions were about, but what I saw wasn't just some slave girl cowering behind Alibaba. It was a confident woman, ready to fight him side by side. She was strong and proud, and I knew that of all the things I wanted, to become like that one of them.

Maybe it was just a silly dream or my imagination wandering about crazily, but the fact remains that I didn't want to keep staying this way. If I wanted to become close to being as confident as I was in my vision and as enduring, I had to change and do something about it. I couldn't keep on acting scared and meek like this, even if I was truly confused and fearing for myself every second of the day.

"I know that right now I can't do anything." I admitted as I looked down in shame. "But I can train! I can try hard to change too. I… I want to become useful. I don't want to keep being scared like this."

I placed my closed fist on my chest, feeling my own heartbeat against it. It was thumping wildly, both in fear and in exhilaration, but I didn't mind. I wanted to do this. I had to do this.

"I'll definitely repay you and become stronger and better." I said sincerely.

"Please let me stay by your side!"

* * *

 **(- Alibaba's POV -)**

Honestly, Alibaba didn't know what to think.

He stared at the girl in front of him, speechless. All he did was buy her a bunch of armlets, and this caused her sudden increase in confidence and drive to improve?

No, he knew it wasn't just the armlets. Saving somebody's life and caring for them undoubtedly would put them in debt. In fact, that was something that Alibaba had feared; that Miriam was only by his side because she was indebted to him. Of course, that truly was the situation at hand, but Alibaba was hoping for something more from her.

When he found her in the desert, his instincts just went on autopilot. Somebody needed his help, so he helped them. What he didn't account for was for her to become his companion in his life as well. He thought that if he saved her, she would simply repay the debt as fast as possible, and leave him to continue his usual way of living.

But he couldn't bear to do that. Seeing her breakdown at even the simplest of things and realizing how helpless she truly was, how could he possibly just leave her alone? Perhaps it was unbecoming to think of Miriam as helpless and fragile, but judging from her mental state and knack of freaking out over even simplest of triggers, it was only automatic to do so.

Seeing her in front of him like this, however, changed his mind. For the past few weeks of living together, she had done nothing but be reserved and comply with whatever he would task her to do. At first it was rather uncanny, how he now had somebody who would listen to him and sought after him for defense when scared. But seeing Miriam's gray eyes harden with resolve and determination definitely placed her in a new light for him.

He was slightly unnerved by her change in demeanor, but he wasn't unhappy about it either. He always wanted to learn more about her and maybe even become closer to her, but the fear of setting her of and causing her to isolate herself even more from the world forced him not to do anything out of hand. If anything, he was glad and proud that she now had her own goal to achieve.

Alibaba nodded, also feeling himself being pumped up by her newfound confidence.

"Alright!" he agreed.

Seeing how her gray eyes lit up and shone with happiness made his own heart beat quicken as well. Well, it certainly was no lie that she was kind of cute-

No. Alibaba, not the point here.

"But I can't do anything if my chains are still on me." She said, looking at the chains that bound her distastefully.

He shared her sentiment. He didn't like the concept of slavery at all and he was entirely against it as well.

"Naker's son will be coming here the day after tomorrow, so we'll be able to get those things off you soon." He said. "You won't be bound any longer. You can become free too."

She smiled at his words and nodded.

He felt happy as well. To help somebody and see them shine with happiness would never fail to make him feel better. Maybe he couldn't help himself or his situation right now, but the least he could do is save somebody else, right?

After all, if he couldn't save one person, how could he possibly save one country?

* * *

 **(- Miriam's POV -)**

Hearing Alibaba's response that day made me feel giddy and slightly pressured to do my best. I couldn't even remove the smile on my lips, though I did try to at least cover my mouth bashfully from showing how emotional I truly felt at that moment.

It was a day where Alibaba had no work. He was helping me rearrange the things in the house and was thinking of ways to solve the problem of the hole in the ceiling.

He was a about to leave the house and inspect the hole from the outside before a knock at the door both caught our attentions. Hurriedly, Alibaba walked over to the door and opened it, revealing a rather tall and attractive man behind it. He was a bit taller than Alibaba and had messy brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a plain white farmer's shirt under a dark brown sleeveless vest and pants in the same style as Alibaba's. Beside him, he carried a long and rectangular chest with metal linings.

"Nihlan! Thanks for stopping by." Alibaba greeted, shaking hands with the other man.

Nihlan laughed and nodded as he shook Alibaba's hands. "When my old man told me to go to your house to break a few chains, I thought why not? Plus, the service payment would do great for some booze."

Alibaba sigh regretfully. "Good for you then. I haven't had a whiff of some good alcohol for a long while now."

Nihlan laughed heartily as he slung his arm around Alibaba's shoulder, pulling him close and ruffling his hair.

"Then come with me! Let's gamble like old time's sake and— oh, who's this young lady?"

I blushed in embarrassment as Nihlan took notice of my presence. I was about to introduce myself before his eyes fell on the chains on my wrist. Almost immediately his eyes widened and his composure straightened, turning completely serious. A look of pity and understanding appeared on his face as he stared at me.

"Alibaba, is this the reason why you had to pay for a private service?" Nihlan asked, looking at me sadly.

Alibaba sigh but nodded. "If I brought her out to your shop, everybody would notice it and I didn't want anybody else to report her. I figured that if I could just break her chains, she wouldn't be a slave anymore."

Nihlan switched his gaze from me to Alibaba, but then returned to look at me again.

"This world is pretty messed up, huh? To have the slave system, I mean." He said as he set his suitcase down. "Not to worry though! I won't say a peep about this to anyone either."

"Thanks Nihlan! I owe you one." Alibaba said.

Nihlan laughed. "No need for that, Alibaba. Just make sure she's alright once I'm finished with her chains and I'm good to go."

He then brought out a small roll of leather from inside the suitcase and placed it on the floor. He gestured for me to come closer, and while I was still somewhat hesitant of his presence, my eagerness to remove the chains easily overpowered me being intimidated. He unrolled the leather and inside were a number of several different tools ranging from size and shape.

"Alright miss, please just sit down in front of me. I'll first remove the chains on your hands." He said, taking what seemed to be like a metal saw in his hand.

I gulped, a sudden image of a silhouetted man overpowering me and holding a similar item in his hand flashing in my mind. Seeing me freeze up slightly, Nihlan turned to Alibaba and signed for him to near me.

Quickly understanding, Alibaba walked towards me and knelt behind me. He placed his hands on my shoulders again, grounding me back to reality.

"I guess she's still frightened of whatever happened from her past, but…" he said, looking at Alibaba as he spoke before switching gazes to me. His expression then softened and a small smile came up his face as he spoke. "You don't have to be afraid of me. I'll remove the chains, but I won't hurt you, okay?"

I nodded slowly, feeling Alibaba's presence sooth me from behind. I then held out my arms in front of him, showing him the chains that were confining my wrists.

He first inspected them, turning my wrists around by holding the cuffs themselves and not my body. He seemed keen on analyzing the outer rims of the cuffs and the part where the chains connected to them, but in the end, he just gave a confident beam.

"The metal itself is very sturdy, so breaking them isn't an option." He stated. "But the mechanism is really simple and I could easily just pick the lock. It would take a few minutes though."

Both Alibaba and I exchanged glances and beamed. Hearing that news made us both relieved, but the fact that the quality of the metal was impervious to brute force to break it did catch my attention.

"Do these types of metals have a specific purpose?" I asked. "Or is it just a special type of… bond for slaves?"

Nihlan hummed and took out a few more tools, but they looked less menacing than the first one he brought out. He didn't look at me, but he did answer my question.

"These metals are usually used for swords and armor, so I'm surprised that it's used for slave bondage. Usually those kinds of bonds are used for especially strong prisoners, like fanalis or gladiators, so I don't know why they would use it on you. Maybe you could give me a clue?"

I hummed, thinking hard. No matter how hard I tried to reflect on the past, absolutely nothing would come up. I find that somewhat ironic, because flashes of the past only happen when I least expect them or even want them to. Truly an annoying feature about my mind.

Finally, I shook my head regretfully.

"Well, it won't matter anymore." He said as he started to insert several tools in the keyhole of the cuffs. "Because I'm going to take these things off you and you'd have no reason to reflect on things like that once I'm done!"

Seeing his enthusiasm, I smiled.

"Thank you very much." I said softly and sincerely, tilting my head slightly.

Nihlan looked at me and I saw his cheeks turn a light shade of pink. I heard Alibaba emit a sound similar to a small growl, which caused Nihlan to cough into his hand and continue working in silence.

I blinked in confusion, looking behind at Alibaba at why their reactions seemed that way.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked, a bit bothered.

Alibaba looked at me with an uncertain smile and shook his head. "No, no! Everything's fine— Ah! How about after we get your chains off, we'll go shopping yeah? We can't let you dress in these rags forever."

"Oh, that's a good idea." I said after giving it some thought. "I'll pay you back for that as well."

"E-eh? You don't have to, like I said—"

"I want to." I said firmly, puffing my cheek slightly in childish defiance. "I don't want to be helpless anymore."

Alibaba didn't reply, his cheeks still pink. Finally he sigh, resigning to simply just letting me what I want. He gave me a shrug and said, "Alright, if that's what you want."

Nihlan laughed in front of us, still focused in picking the chains' mechanism.

"Let the lady work, Alibaba! If she wants to earn her way in life, then so be it." Nihlan said as he took another tool and inserted it inside the keyhole. "She can't be cooped up inside here forever after all."

I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I got it." Alibaba mumbled. Hey, are you almost done anyway?"

Nihlan grunted, fumbling with the tools and twisting them in the keyhole. "Hold up— Almost got it—!"

A loud cling was heard as the cuffs opened and unclasped themselves from my wrists. They fell on the ground with a loud thud, no longer attached to my body.

My eyes widened as I gazed at my wrists, free from the confinement of the metal around them. They were red and marked my skin with ugly discoloration, but I paid no heed to that. Instead I focused on moving my hands, clenching and un-clenching my fists, then bringing my wrists closer to my face.

I felt lighter and less… suffocated. Literally speaking, the cuffs were considerably heavy and dragged me down with their weight, but this emotion I felt gave me a different sense of lightness.

"Alright, only the chains on your legs left." Nihlan said, nodding in accomplishment as he quickly set out to repeat the process on the chains on my legs.

I pulled my skirt slightly up, showing him my feet. He then inserted the same tools and repeated his actions from earlier. He showed even more focus as he continued to fiddle with the keyhole, seemingly locked up in his own trance as he worked.

"They're gone…" I mumbled, staring at my hands. It was strange moving without the cuffs, especially since I've actually grown accustomed to having their weights around for weeks now. But the feeling of being liberated from them were much better than being trapped within them, so I made absolutely no complaints at all.

Without realizing it, Nihlan had also managed to unlock the chains on my legs too. They created the same clanging sound as they unlocked, falling on the ground as they de-attached themselves from my ankles.

I gasped, reaching out to touch my ankles. They were also marred with discoloration and bruising from the friction it endured from the cuffs, but those weren't important.

I suddenly stood up. This surprised both Nihlan and Alibaba, but my expression of elation and amazement made them chuckle at my antics.

"T-they're gone!" I said in amazement, staring at my wrists and my ankles. I took a few steps backwards, feeling my whole body feel so much lighter both literally and figuratively as I walked away from the chains.

I turned to Alibaba and for a few moments we simply stared at each other. Finally, it dawned onto me fully what exactly was happening.

I was free.

I was free!

"I-I'm free." I said factually, staring at both men in front of me.

They both exchanged looks and nodded in agreement, turning to me as if to see if there was anything else I wanted to say. I kept switching my gaze from my wrists to the men in front of me, unable to comprehend this feeling of liberation.

"I'm free! I'm free!" I said again, this time with more joy and excitement. My chest bloomed with overflowing joy and I felt my whole body suddenly feel like it was being born anew. I didn't know why I was so ecstatic to have the chains of; aside from being labelled as a slave, I couldn't recall what happened in the past that could've possibly led to me feeling this thankful for finally being set free.

 _I'm no longer a slave. I'm finally… I'm finally…!_

"I'm free!"

* * *

 **[A/N:] Hello again readers!**

 **Ah, this chapter was very difficult for me to write. I wanted to give more detail, however it started to become way too long and didn't seem to fit in with the way I wanted it to flow properly. The addition of Nihlan's character was actually a spur of the moment kind of thing because I had originally other plans on how to have Miriam's chains removed, but I'm still satisfied with how this turned up.**

 **In regards to Miriam's emotional state, I won't reveal much aside from her body acting purely on instinct and that several trigger factors from her environment would set her off. Also, this isn't exactly an excuse to insert a few moments between Miriam and Alibaba together; I want to show the symptoms of PTSD properly, especially since I've gone through experiencing it myself. The anime and manga series didn't show a proper depiction of how it usually goes, which is the reason why I decided to set the timeline of Miriam's appearance a year before the series officially starts.**

 **Oh, and before anybody throws the Mary-Sue card again (as I have been tossed that shameful hate on me before), I would like to say to at least make sure that Miriam does fit into that category. While I would gladly show you the exit of never reading this story again, it would be your loss as to miss how Miriam will develop over the entire story.**

 **Thoughts? Comments? Leave a review below!**

 **Thank you very much for reading everybody! Have a great day.**

 **~ Irene (11-03-18)**


	4. Chapter 4: Life in Qishan Pt 1

**Chapter 4  
Life in Qishan Pt. 1**

* * *

"Miriam… Uhm…"

"What is it? Is there something on my face?"

"No… but… aren't those too heavy for you?"

I looked at Alibaba curiously before looking at the number of luggage I was carrying on both of my shoulders. Since my shoulders were preoccupied, I settled for shaking my head instead of shrugging as a response.

Alibaba looked at me, his face quite comical in disbelief and uncertainty as a roll of sweat dropped down the side of his head. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but decided against it as his body slumped slightly in defeat.

"Never mind." He mumbled.

Perhaps it was quite ridiculous, seeing one person carry at least two large sacks of fruits and vegetables on either side of their shoulders without breaking a sweat. If I had settled the sacks down, it would probably reach my entire height, but surprisingly I found myself unbothered by their weight. In fact, I hardly noticed it at all.

"Where do I place these Alibaba?" I asked.

Alibaba pointed towards the empty cart parked near the stables.

"Inside of those." He said. "The other deliverers will take them to the neighboring town near the border of the desert, but we have to help in loading and unloading the cargo for now. There's a business exchange policy between Qishan and that town whenever it's this time around, so we'll be doing a lot of trips this season."

I nodded in understanding before proceeding to walk towards the cart he gestured. I climbed up one of the stools beside it and lowered the sack on my left shoulder gently before using both hands to place the other sack beside it on the cart. Taking the ropes attached to the opening of the sacks, I tied them together and created a knot tightly to close it and avoid the contents from spilling out.

Nearly three months have passed since Nihlan broke my chains and never have I felt so liberated. Maybe it was more of a metaphorical weight that dragged me down while the chains were intact instead of their physical weight, but ever since they were off, I started to change.

One of my changes was my increase in strength. The first time Alibaba and I noticed the sudden change in my strength was when we were cleaning up the house. It was one of the few times where he wasn't needed for a delivery, so we decided to re-arrange and completely clean the entire house while he had time. Due to the large hole in his ceiling, dust was a big problem and pests such as insects and sly cats usually end up finding themselves inside the house. We covered it with a small tarp, but we still thought it was necessary to give the house some cleaning.

I initially thought that I would need his help to lift some of the larger chests and jugs out of the house since they looked too heavy for me. Several of the items inside looked very heavy and weighed a lot, so we both took advantage of Alibaba's free time to help me carry the things from inside the house to outside. We accidentally discovered my new affinity for carrying several heavy objects at once when I had unintentionally lifted two large crates on one arm and balanced a large basket full of fruit in the other.

"M-miriam?!" Alibaba cried as with his pupils shrinking in shock.

Truthfully, I didn't even notice I was carrying that much in the first place. The weight of the crate when I held it and lifted it from the ground was hardly noticeable, so I just lifted it and placed it on my shoulder and used one arm to support it. I tried to carry another crate with one hand and I managed to do so successfully, so I simply just piled it on top of the first crate I carried and balanced myself to make sure it wouldn't fall. When I carried the basketful of fruits in one hand, it felt like lifting a sheet of cloth- it made little to no difference at all. Maybe I was simply too dense to realize it, but I suppose that being able to carry so much despite my stature and physical appearance would definitely shock anybody.

But as I saw how Alibaba's jaw dropped and his eyes widened in disbelief, it made me feel a little bit proud of myself in having impressed him. With that said, I also felt a little urge to tease and play along, so I continued to act oblivious.

"Yes?" I asked simply, staring at him as I tried my hardest not to show how much I wanted to laugh at his expressive facial reactions.

"Y-you-... heavy… uh…" he stuttered out, waving his hands around to gesture to the amount of items I was carrying at the time.

When I tilted my head in confusion, he seemed to realize that I wasn't understanding him at all. With a sigh, he decided to just shake his head and offer a nervous smile as he told me not to worry about it.

I felt a bit guilty for tricking him like that, but my childish glee overpowered that feeling.

Pushing aside the fact that Alibaba was prone to expressing himself in the most comical ways possible, I was also perturbed by realizing this new aspect of myself. It wasn't that I found it burdensome, but it was definitely troubling to find out that I had this amount of strength at all. When I was still bound to those horrid chains, I felt as if I was literally weak and helpless. All I did in Alibaba's house back then was walk around and clean using the broom and towels, so I guess it wouldn't have been noticeable how strong I really was until that incident. Perhaps the weight of the metal pulled me down both mentally and physically, so as soon as Nihlan had broken then and freed both my ankles and wrists from them, I regained a bit of myself. I could be exaggerating, but the moment those chains separated from my body, I felt as if my will and my strength as a person returned.

It wasn't just my strength that surprised us both; my behaviour was also changing. From being meek and defenseless, I was starting to become more open and slightly more trusting towards people around me. While I didn't do a complete 180, I noticed that I didn't fear them as much nor did I find myself cowering so easily as I used to be. It wasn't a drastic change from my attitude prior to being freed, but it could be somewhat considered as an improvement from my defenseless and admittedly weak-willed state.

True to his word, Alibaba's master made no mention of my existence as a slave once the chains were off. Alibaba had quickly disposed of them as soon as they could, but without his own knowledge, I decided to salvage them and hide them inside the house. I knew that the chains were horrible and that the whole time I wore them I just wanted them to disappear, but I found myself being attached to them and unable to let go. For that reason, I decided to simply hide them inside the house and think about whether I should or should not throw them away. The logical conclusion was to simply forget about them and destroy them, but for some reason, it didn't seem right to me.

It wasn't just Alibaba's master who stuck true to his word; I decided to also get a job of my own. Alibaba insisted that I could just assist him in his cart duties so that we could work together and not be separated from each other during the day. At first, I wanted to disagree, but then I realized that it could benefit both of us and the personal time I could use in helping him with his duties could also compensate and show how grateful I was for saving my life.

His master accepted me as an unofficial worker under his business and that I would only receive around half the payment Alibaba makes every week. Alibaba wanted to fight for both of us to earn the same amount of money for my job, but I told him that it didn't matter so long as I managed to work. It bothered me that I was looked down upon, but I didn't make too much of a fuss over it. Alibaba's master could easily fire Alibaba himself and that would lead to both of us being in a complicated situation, so I decided to stay quiet and follow.

However, he didn't allow me to work right away. He told both of us that I had to at least look presentable for working and that even without my chains, I could easily be identified as a slave. The dirt on my face, the ragged clothing, and the overall haggard aura I emitted had screamed prisoner, and he didn't want anybody to find out about his association with me either. His personality was overall infuriating, but I could also understand the logic behind his words.

Alibaba struggled against speaking for my sake and accepting his master's terms. During the talk of when he mentioned making me look "presentable to attract more customers", his facial expression switched into distaste and disgust. As he was about to protest, I was afraid he would say something that may change his master's mind, so I simply grabbed his hand and shook my head.

"But Miriam, you can't-"

"It doesn't matter." I said softly. "So long as I have work, it will be fine. You'll be with me anyways, right? I know nothing will happen to me if you're around."

I added a small smile in the end in hopes of quelling his distraught. When Alibaba calmed himself down and reluctantly agreed to his master's terms and conditions, I let out a small sigh of relief.

Afterwards, Alibaba decided to push through with his idea of shopping. We didn't go to shopping right away however, due to the lack of expenses for that time. He seemed ashamed to make me wait for so long just to clean up and fix my appearance, but I told him that it was fine.

"If I could wait my entire life to be free, then I can wait a few more days just for some new clothes."

With my assurance, he said that he felt slightly less guilty. I knew he was still feeling somewhat ashamed for not being able to provide, but it honestly didn't bother me as much. Trying to maintain your hygiene while being a worker everyday was difficult, especially in Qishan. Most people were either stall tenders, cart drivers, or hotel workers. There was only one noble in the entire town, and that was the Lord of Qishan himself. From living taxes, food and water, and clothing, paying for all of them without trouble was nearly impossible if you weren't well-off.

It took a few weeks before he could earn enough extra money for me, and I would be lying if I were to say I was patient in waiting. My body started to smell horrible and the dirt on the soles of my feet dried up so much they became difficult to wipe off. The clothes I wore were also tearing up that the lower part of the skirt begun to hike up higher and higher that it became embarrassing for me to sleep without a blanket.

When it came for the day I would go to the bathing house, Alibaba had lent me an extra plain robe to wear over my clothes. I used another piece of clothing around my head and wrapped it around my face and head, covering my face from anybody to see. In whole, I was very much covered from head to toe and was disguised quite well.

All in all, my experience of bathing in there wasn't all that exciting.

As the women's and men's public baths were separate buildings, Alibaba left me on my own once I entered the women's bath house. Thankfully, I wasn't alone inside. The women inside were very considerate and helped tour me around. They directed me through the several changing rooms and the bath section itself.

The bath was actually an open area with tall walls surrounding it. Even if somebody were to try and peak, there was no chance as the bath house was near the edge of an elevated land inside the town itself. Unless they had the ability to fly and tear a hole inside thick mud walls, I doubt that anybody could find a way to peek through.

Despite my hardest not to, I still felt uneasy being left to my own devices- which was quite ridiculous in itself if you thought about it. The whole point of improving myself was to learn how to become my own person and repay my debt to Alibaba, and clinging to him too much was definitely not a good sign.

"Oh? Are you new here?" A middle-aged woman asked as I entered the bath house nervously.

I gulped as all attention suddenly turned to me. The woman's call-out was rather loud and caught everybody's attention. I caught a few girls make a face of disgust as they looked at me, turning away quickly. Some sneered and others just glanced pitifully.

I nodded nervously at the woman, who in turn smiled at me. This eased my nerves as she seemed like a good enough person.

"If that's the case, don't be shy!" she said as she gestured for me to come to her.

As I learned, her name was Peia and she was one of the shop owners in the main market district. Once she learned I was associated with Alibaba, she merely smiled coyly and proceeded to teach me about how to bathe and fix myself properly. She taught me various ointments and formulas that they used to clean their bodies, wash their hair, and perfumes they used to help them smell good even while working during the day.

However, Peia was no angel. She almost tricked me into using her own perfume, but another woman warned me not to because I would have to purchase it since it was a specialty of Peia's own shop. Luckily, I managed to weasel my way out of not using the perfume and paying for it.

Once I finished my bath, I stepped out of the water and cringed slightly as it turned darker. I felt guilty and slightly ashamed of my lack of cleanliness, however I knew that it wasn't my fault as well. Still, it was embarrassing.

I wrapped a longer towel around my body, which covered my body from my chest area to a few inches above my knees. As I exited the bath and re-entered the building, I headed back to one of the small rooms inside to change back into the clothes I originally wore, only to find them gone and replaced with a new stack.

"What's this?" I murmured out loud as I picked up one of the folded clothes and raised it in front of me.

It was a simple but long and red dress. It was slightly form fitting around the top area, however it was loose and flowed freely from the waist down. Along the sides of the dress were too large slits, which I figured allowed for free leg movement.

I then placed the dress over the front of my body, measuring how long it really was. The dress reached just above my ankles, but the slits on the sides reached until my upper thighs and actually ventured higher. The blush that came on my face deepened, both from the bath house and more embarrassment at the thought of wearing something like this.

I turned to the same spot where I picked the dress up and noticed two more items folded along with it. I placed the dress down and picked another item up, watching as it unrolled and revealed itself as a long scarf. It was also red in color, however way darker and was woven from a much thicker fabric.

I spread the sash in front of me, looking at it silently before suddenly realizing that these clothes may not be mine. Flustered, I quickly tried to fold them to the way they were previously, but as I was about to place the sash down, somebody called out my name.

"What are you doing?"

I turned around only to find another woman standing behind me who was in the middle of changing herself. She looked at me curiously and eyed the clothes in front of me before she made a face of realization and understanding.

"Oh, somebody placed those clothes there for you." she explained simply, continuing to change as she spoke. "I think some guy had somebody else deliver it inside, you know, since he isn't allowed to be here. Ali… Ali-what's-his-name?"

My eyes widened at the mention of Alibaba. Did he really buy these clothes for me?

I felt both grateful and a tad bit embarrassed, especially due to the amount of exposure my legs were going to get if I were to where the dress. However, I knew it would be rude not to wear it and that I really had no other alternative.

When she saw me make no move to wear the clothes, she sigh and looked at me in slight irritation.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked. "Just wear them already."

I flushed and held the sash close to my chest, feeling small.

"I-I just… it's revealing…" I said, looking away.

"Hah?" she said in disbelief. When she realized I was serious, she shook her head and turned her back on me. She shuffled slightly and I saw her open a bag, so I peered and waited silently as she dug inside of her bag's contents.

After a few moments, she pulled a few things out and stretched her hand out to me. I looked at her hand and saw what seemed to be several rolls of bandages.

I tilted my head to the side and looked at her in confusion. She sigh and threw the items at me, causing me to fumble around and try to catch them before they fell. Fortunately, I managed to do so without dropping any of them.

"Use them to cover your legs after you wear your underwear." she said as she turned her back to me and peaked at me from her shoulder. "You can also use it to support your chest… I feel like you'll need it especially with your package."

For a moment, I didn't understand what she was referring to. But when I followed her gaze to my chest, I understood what she meant. Nevertheless, it was still quite embarrassing.

She then started to walk away and I watched as she neared the exit of the room. Just before the left, I called out to her.

"Thank you!" I said.

She didn't respond but merely waved her hand and continued to walk without giving me a glance. It was a little bit off-putting, but I decided to just be thankful for her help.

That happened around a few weeks ago, and now I visit the bath house around every three days. It didn't actually cost much to wash yourself there, but bec of how dirty I was when I first used it, I had to pay for a longer time allotment in order to clean myself thoroughly. Now, however, it doesn't take me that long to wash myself.

I must also admit, I've grown to loving my bath sessions.

My job with Alibaba was mostly helping him loading and unloading cargo from one cart to another and keeping track of the goods by listing them down in the book. Usually cart driving businesses don't need official records for who they trade with, but as I've learned, there was only one cart driving business in Qishan and it also acted as a direct link from this town to the others nearby. Also, it was officially known as the Lord's personal transportation business, so reputation and our own very lives as workers were on stake.

It also made it understandable why I was an unofficial worker in the business. All of the workers under the business were males and have records of their service with the Lord of Qishan himself. If anybody were to look me up as a worker and hire me, my past as a slave could be found out and I would be sent back into labor. Just the mere thought of it was enough to make me have nightmares for weeks.

"Miriam!"

I looked behind me and saw Alibaba's master, whose name I've learned was Frujeel, approach me. I turned to him and stood properly, waiting for him walk towards me and speak.

"Miriam, I need you to go to Naker's place and carry some of their metal shipment here." Frujeel said as he handed me a piece of paper. I took it quietly and read what was on it, noting at the number of swords and armors that were listed down. "We'll be shipping them first them tomorrow morning, so we need to start loading them right now. Do you think you can bring them all here by sundown?"

I glanced from the paper towards the sky. The sun was beginning to lower on the horizon, but Naker's Blacksmith shop wasn't that far from the loading area of the cart business. I looked back at Frujeel and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you." he said. "After all, you can lift around thrice the capacity of my men. It's impressive for a female, so let's put those abilities to good use."

I bit back a frown and simply nodded again. When he started walking away, I started to make my way towards Naker's place as well.

On my way there, I caught sight of Alibaba was checking his cart's cargo and listing them down. He noticed me and smiled, waving at my way. I waved back and decided to walk towards him before going to Naker's.

"Hey, how are you doing so far?" he asked as he turned to me.

I nodded. "I'm fine. I'm just going to head to Nihlan's shop to get some of the shipment and carry them here since Frujeel said he needs it by sundown."

Alibaba hummed in understanding. "If that's the case, I'll go with you. I'm already done listing down the cargo and ready for tomorrow's shipment-" he said as he patted the cart twice. "-so I can help you out."

"I can handle it though…" I murmured as he started to walk in front with me following close behind him.

"Girls shouldn't carry heavy things for a long time, so let me help you." Alibaba said, huffing his chest out proudly and striding a bit pompously as we made our way to Naker's Blacksmith Shop.

Naker and Nihlan are the only blacksmiths in Qishan, so it was fair to say that they had a good business. They shipped different sorts of materials ranging from raw metal to weapons. They even shipped slave chains, much to my dismay, but that was entirely Naker's own choice of shipment. Nihlan had always been against slavery and wanted to participation in creating the chains, which caused a split in his relationship with his father. Whether I was happy about it or not, I didn't say anything regarding it.

Their shop was located in the very middle of the shopping street district of Qishan, where it was always crowded everyday. Even as the sun was starting to set, there were still a great number of people wandering around, searching for items to buy and haggle with.

We walked in silence until we reached the entrance of the shopping district. I was still uncomfortable being in the presence of a lot of people, so I paused and stopped walking at the very entrance. It was still difficult for me to adjust to having so much people around me, but I knew it was unavoidable if I had to walk through.

Out of nowhere, Alibaba grabbed my hand. My eyes widened in surprise and I turned to him, who was smiling reassuringly. He gave my hand a squeeze and walked inside, dragging me along with him.

"Alibaba, wait!" I whispered as he pulled me behind him.

As we walked and navigated through the crowd of people, I couldn't help myself from looking around me. A part of myself was amazed at the shops and people bartering and buying goods around me, but another was terrified at the thought of being around so many people at the same time.

I caught sight of several people staring at me. Some were at wonder, others were in curiosity, but there were also those who looked in… what I could only define as hunger.

After what seemed to take forever, we managed to reach Naker's shop. It was around the end of the shopping district and in the open area of the whole town, so it was easy to distinguish from the rest of the establishments.

Once we got to the door, Alibaba let go of my hand and knocked on the wood. A muffled yell came from inside, which prompted both of us to exchange curious glances at each other. The sound of footsteps were heard and they were getting louder with each step, so Alibaba and I stepped a few spaces backwards in preparation. The door swung then swung open.

"Welcome to Naker's Smith shop!"

And just as I remembered him, there stood Nihlan. His black hair was slicked slightly back and his face was covered in dirt and ash. His hands were covered in brown leather gloves and on his right hand was some sort of tool which I assumed he was using before he came opening the door.

When he met with my gaze, a smile broke out on his face.

"Miriam!" he said as he slid the tool on his hand into the tool belt. He was about to pet my hair, but I ducked lower and cringed.

"Don't mess my hair please." I said, a little bit annoyed.

Nihlan let out a hearty laugh before turning to Alibaba.

"Need the new load of metals?" he asked. "The cargo is already prepared and wrapped up nicely around the back. I can bring it around front, though it may take a while since we have about six crates worth of weapons."

"We can help!" Alibaba said as he placed his hand on his chest proudly. "I may not look like it, but I'm pretty strong myself! Hehe."

Nihlan placed his hand under his chin and turned to me. He then raised an eyebrow and pointed to Alibaba in question before speaking.

"But Miriam seems more dependable." he stated simply and bluntly. "I mean, she can probably carry all of the crates by herself in one go. You'd probably take half a day, and that's with the help of a pulley."

"E-excuse me?!" Alibaba said in indignation. "I'm strong too! Besides, Miriam is just a girl! She can't do as much as a man can."

I gawked at Alibaba in annoyance and disbelief. That was terribly unfair! What was it with females that was so unbelievable for them to be as strong or even stronger than males? It wasn't so far-fetched.

I huffed angrily and crossed my arms before walking forward and purposely brushing against his shoulder as I strode past him. I looked up at Nihlan and placed one hand on my hip and opened my other hand in front of him.

"Please give me the cargo. I can carry them all back if i have to. We need them back before sun down, which is nearing." I stated curtly.

Nihlan gulped as he registered my irritation. He chose to nod obediently and jerk his thumb behind him.

"The shipment is already to go. You can walk around the shop building and find them all prepared and ready to go." he said unsurely.

I nodded silently in understanding. Turning around, I then started to make my way to the back of the shop while effortlessly ignoring Alibaba's presence and leaving him behind.

Before I could exit hearing distance, I managed to catch on to some parts of their conversation.

"Oi Alibaba, you really are dense."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

I gritted my teeth and stomped my foot on the ground, unknowingly rupturing it and causing a slight tremor in the ground. Two of the male voices let out a cry of surprise and I found myself feeling more satisfied with myself.

I rounded towards the back of the shop and, true to his word, all of their shipment was ready to go. I heard footsteps near me so I turned to look behind me, finding Nihlan and Alibaba approaching me. As I glanced at Alibaba, I felt my irritation bubble even more and clicked my tongue.

I walked towards the cargo and looked at the crates. They were standard sized, so I estimated that I probably would be able to carry them easily, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to carry them all at the same time. Despite my physical strength, I was aware that I wouldn't be able to balance too much crates on my shoulders without risking them falling on the ground.

Even with this silent realization, I refused to speak to Alibaba. Instead, I kneeled down and grabbed one crate before placing it on my left shoulder. I repeated the same thing and grabbed another crate, balancing it on the first crate I carried on my left shoulder. Then with my free hand, I took another crate and balanced it on my right shoulder.

"Um… Miriam?"

I turned around, finding Alibaba shifting slightly in his place. He was rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding my gaze, but I didn't relent in my silence.

"Sorry about saying that earlier," he said. "I was just annoyed because Nihlan said what he said, but that doesn't mean you're not strong. I mean, you are! Heck, you're carrying a lot of cargo right now."

I raised my eyebrow at him, not feeling quite satisfied with his apology. Seeing my expectant expression, he sigh and allowed his shoulders to slump slightly forward.

"I just… Well, I guess I'm still growing used to you doing things on your own." Alibaba murmured as he finally looked at me straight in the eye. "I'm just concerned you'll freak out again. I didn't mean to insult you. You're really strong."

My eyes widened in surprise. Was that really why he was insistent on constantly hogging my work? No, it probably wasn't, but maybe it was him finally recognizing that I wanted to start changing myself too. The entire point of participating and trying to help him was to pay him for his kindness, and yet he was removing the whole purpose of my actions with his own.

"I know you're used to me being overly dependent on you." I started, my voice small in shame. "I know you worry about me a lot and I understand, but hearing you demean me like that really defeats the purpose of everything I'm doing. I want to help, but I also want you to start looking at me equally too."

I then looked away from him and pouted.

"I just want to do this right."

Alibaba sigh and walked over to my front. I shifted my gaze to him, a little unsure whether or not my words were appropriate. Even if I was frustrated with him, I didn't want this to cause any future friction or cause of tension between the two of us.

He bowed his head slightly which allowed his bangs to overshadow his eyes. A few moments of silence passed before he released a sigh and raised his head. Nodding, he gave me a smile and a look of understanding.

"Alright." he said. "You also want to start moving forward too, huh?"

Happy that he realized my intentions, I nodded with a smile of my own.

He gave me a toothy grin and started walking over to the rest of the crates. He rolled his sleeves until they reached his shoulders before bending down to lift one of them up. Since the crates were around medium in size and probably weigh a lot on its own, it looked like Alibaba didn't bother to take a second one.

"Come on then! Master is still waiting back at the loading station." Alibaba called as he walked and started to lead the way.

I smiled and skipped a little in my step as I followed after him.

* * *

 _The echoes of the whip continued to reverberate through the air._

 _It was dark, cold, unbearable- but then again when has it not been that way? The dungeons were rarely a place for pleasantries and was more of a place of your certain demise._

 _How long has it been? A day? Two? A week? Maybe a month?_

 _Tied down with chains binding my wrists and feet, she could do nothing but await in agonizing silence. She had long stopped crying every time her own punishment sessions would start, but it didn't mean the pain was something she grew accustomed to._

 _Her body felt dirty, and it wasn't just because of the grime and unholy conditions of her cell. No, she was dirty completely from her own physicality to her own virtue as a woman. There was nothing spared for her to possibly uphold her existence with dignity anymore. Nothing._

 _Her cell door suddenly jerked open. The metal doors dragged slowly against the floor, almost as if it was on purpose so that she would know who exactly was visiting her._

" _Ah, little one. How have you been?"_

 _Her eyes widened and she suddenly started jerking in her place. Her body spasmed with violence and her screams of retaliation and fear joined the chorus of wails as well in the hall._

 _A short chuckle came from the person as the footsteps neared her. Their heels clicked loudly, each sound imprinting itself permanently in her memory._

" _Let's start your punishment, child."_

 _She shook her head vehemently._

" _No, don't come near me!" she cried in protest. Her voice was cracked from her previous screaming session, but she'd rather lose her voice if it meant that she would never endure that pain again._

 _A long and hearty laugh of which she could only describe as pure evil came from whomever was inside her cell. Slowly, their calloused hands traced the bindings on her feet before roughly grabbing her calves and gripping it with so much force she was sure that a bruise would be the least of her worries._

" _NO! NO NO NO!"_

" _Take it like a good girl!"_

" _NO! LEAVE ME! LEAVE ME, LEAVE ME, LEAVE ME-!"_

* * *

 **(- Alibaba's POV -)**

When he started hearing her screams, he bolted upright and immediately turned to her.

Due to them having no proper bed inside the house, they opted for using a large and soft rug to cushion them as they slept on the floor beside each other. The night was unbearably cold, so the stove from the fireplace was still alive with its flames flickering constantly.

However, as Alibaba looked over to Miriam, it was obvious that the weather wasn't the problem. She was shivering violently and her forehead was beaded with sweat. As if that wasn't enough of an indication she was having nightmares, she started tossing and turning in her place while screaming.

As fast as he could, Alibaba threw the covers away and knelt beside her. Trying to wake her from her nightmare, we grabbed her shoulders and shook her firmly.

"Miriam! Miriam, wake up! Hey!" he said as he watched her face contort into an expression of pure horror.

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

All of a sudden he was flung across the room and landed harshly on his back. Alibaba had a moment to sooth the pain from his body before he looked back at Miriam.

She was finally sitting upright, having woken herself up from her nightmare. Her right arm was outstretched, indicating that she had accidentally flung it towards Alibaba to defend herself from whatever it was she was dreaming about. Her eyes were wide with fear and mania and her breaths were erratic as she tried to calm her own breathing.

Without hesitation, Alibaba slowly made his way towards Miriam. She didn't seem to notice his presence, despite him coming closer to her. Her eyes were gazing straight forward, but she didn't seem to register any of her surroundings at all.

He came up in front of her and brought his hand towards her elbow. Slowly, he rubbed her elbow to gage what kind of reaction she may have. When she didn't respond, he continued his actions and placed his hands on her shoulders once again.

From experience, he knew that the only place she could touch her without worsening her state of panic was her shoulders. It wasn't the first time he had helped her calm down from panicking, and sadly it wasn't his first time waking Miriam up from her own nightmares either. Alibaba used his thumb and gently rubbed her shoulders in a soothing manner, hoping that it would bring her back to a coherent enough state.

"Miriam?" he called once more, trying his best to steady his own voice because he was scared too. But he couldn't show that now, she needed him more.

Finally, she blinked. Her eyes seemed to return back to their original state with the haze it previously held slowly disappearing. She turned her head from the left to the right before settling on Alibaba. When she realized he was holding her, she spoke.

"A-alibaba?" she asked, her voice shaky and wavering in uncertainty.

Alibaba nodded, his expression firm.

"I'm here."

With those two words, he felt her shoulders relax. Her body slumped forward and her arms wrapped themselves around him, to which he automatically responded by returning the hug. He felt her body shiver against him as she began to cry in his shoulder.

A series of apologies left her mouth, but Alibaba said nothing. Instead, he simply shook his head and gently rubbed her hair. It took a while, but she slowly stopped shaking in his arms. Before he could even realize it himself, she had fallen asleep within his grasp.

He turned over to glance at Miriam's face, which was partly covered in his shoulder. Her cheeks were stained with tears and her skin seemed paler than normal. It was concerning with how affected she was with her nightmares, especially since they were starting to become a regular occurence.

He didn't know what to do. Even when he would try to bring the subject up in the next morning, she wouldn't say anything. It frustrated him to no end that she refused to say anything, but he also didn't want to force her. While he didn't like it, he knew he had to be patient and wait for her to be ready.

With a sigh, he gently placed her back on the cushion and laid down beside her. He grabbed the covers that he had hazardously thrown aside and placed it over them. He then gently brushed a few strands of hair from Miriam's face, gazing at her for a few moments before turning around the other way so his back was facing her.

He knew that sleep wouldn't come easy to him after that, but he still closed his eyes and silently hoped for the best.

* * *

 _ **EXTRA: After Miriam's first bath session...**_

* * *

 **(- Alibaba's POV -)**

 _Miriam was taking a long time._

 _Alibaba was starting to grow worried, but he really couldn't do anything. Several thoughts raced inside his head, ranging from questions on why Miriam was taking a long time and whether she was alright inside. He had never interacted with a lot of women before, however he did hear stories about how judgmental some of them could be._

 _He really wanted to accompany Miriam inside the bathing house, but he knew that even if tried, he would be slaughtered and skinned alive. Women in Qishan were ruthless when it came down to their privacy, especially since many men had attempted to peak before. He's seen the battle wounds the other men bore after the women went through with them, so he'd rather not risk it._

 _Alibaba was just about to enter the building and ask for Miriam when somebody stepped outside of the bath house. He looked up at the figure and found his jaw open in shock as he gazed in front of him._

 _Remember when he had called Miriam cute? He would like to retract that statement now._

 _Maybe it was because her hair was unruly and matted with all sorts of dirt, or her skin was covered head to toe in filth, or that she was dressed in rags the entire time she was with him because he had never seen the potential of Miriam's true beauty. Sure, even before she had bathed he had found her quite attractive and endearing with her soft-spoken personality, but this was in a whole new level._

 _After having a proper and steady bath, Miriam was now clean from head to toe. Her hair was no longer disorganized nor did it resemble a rat's nest, but was now combed properly and styled neatly. Her bangs swept through the right of her face and her hair brushed against her shoulders. A few strands of her hair seemed to fringe slightly away from the rest, but it didn't look off at all. Her pale skin was now clean and free from all kinds of dirt, showing off how much it resembled unique white porcelain that he usually sees being sold out in shops. She donned the long red dress he had picked out for her and used the sash to tie it around her waist, securing the clothing from flying up too much. The slits on her side exposed almost the entirety of her legs, but he saw that she had wrapped a few rolls of bandages around her upper thighs to at least keep it modest._

 _She wasn't cute; she was beautiful._

 _Miriam caught his eye and smiled as she started to make her way towards him. He was frozen in his spot, unable to look away and say anything. Soon enough, she had neared him enough to stand right in front of him._

" _Alibaba, thank you for the new clothes." she said, her cheeks dusted in pink. "They're really nice, but the slits were too much so I used some of these rolls to cover myself up a bit. Ah, but the dress is pretty!"_

 _When he noticed she was waiting for him to say something, he snapped himself out of his own trance. He breathed in and noticed that she probably wore perfume; it was subtle and not so empowering, but enough to be noticed and appreciated._

" _N-no worries!" Alibaba said as he tried to laugh his nervousness off. Seriously, was this really the same girl he saved?_

 _When she smiled, he felt his heart beat a little faster. He knew this feeling all too well and was both screaming inside from realization and excitement._

" _A-anyways!" he said as he pulled out Miriam's two armlets from behind him. "I held onto these just in case they got stolen, but now you can wear them with your clothes."_

 _He watched as Miriam's gray eyes widened with happiness. She took both armlets from him and slid them into her arms. When she finished, she glanced at Alibaba and sent him a small smile._

" _Thank you so much_ _." she said, tilting her head slightly which allowed her hair to brush against her shoulders._

 _Alibaba gulped as he felt his heart race even faster._

 _He was doomed._

* * *

 **[A/N:] Alas, 'tis another update! :D Christmas break is just right around the corner, which means more time for me to write and less time for me to actually develop a plan for my future and further disappoint my family. (sigh)**

 **Things are started to get exciting, no? The plot is now progressing and even if the story seems to be partly in the introduction, some snippets have been revealed already in the past four chapters that should give some hints and insight as to what will happen soon.**

 **And for now, a few replies to the reviews:**

 **Bunnyxstar:** _I cringed slightly when I realized that you've read the older version of this story since I'm very embarrassed of how I wrote it. Miriam is quite delicate in this one as compared to the older revision, but don't worry as there is still 5-6 months for her to strengthen up and grow a spine. I figured that it would be better to give an in depth story on how she develops and changes rather than just stick to one personality trait without any reason and just go with the whole "badass" vibe. Ah, but thank you very much for giving this story a chance!_

 **Mary D. Black2000:** _Hm, most people consider Mary-Sues as characters who are strong and have no flaws and are basically perfect, yes? She won't be a character that will be a god-like savior, so don't worry. Miriam will be far from that._

 **Thanks for reading everybody!**

 **~ Irene (11-24-18)**


	5. Chapter 5: Life in Qishan Pt 2

**Chapter 5**

 **Life in Qishan Pt. 2**

* * *

It seemed like such a good idea at the time, but looking at how the situation was playing out made me rethink on what I considered "good ideas".

"Miriam, are you sure you want to do this?" Alibaba asked once more as he looked at me unsurely.

Despite my clear signs of exhaustion, I nodded with a small smile. We had been training in one of the abandoned areas in Qishan by ourselves for the past two hours now, however I was already nearing my physical limit.

Just a few weeks ago, I had asked Alibaba if it was alright for him to help me train. Train in what exactly, I wasn't entirely sure. While my abnormal strength could be seen as an advantage in the future to defend myself, I felt like it was also a double-edged sword. Several incidents already occurred where I accidentally broke pots, furniture, and even our own cargo during the job. I had already injured Alibaba whenever he tried to wake me from my nightmares and scared Nihlan by almost accidentally breaking his jaw.

My strength was both a blessing and a curse, but I saw it more as a burden especially since I couldn't control it.

Initially, I thought that learning how to fight will enable me to control my strength through experience. I also thought that it would also be a good idea to learn how to defend myself and make use of my ability correctly so as not to break or hurt anybody accidentally. A noteworthy incident was when I nearly destroyed an entire row or deliver carts because I tripped on a small stone. It was embarrassing, to say the least.

"How about we take a short break?" Alibaba suggested as he relaxed his stance. He returned his small dagger back into its sheath and slowly walked up to me while offering his hands out for me to take.

While Alibaba had made use of his dagger that he usually carried with him, I had no weapons. It was for two reasons; the first being me completely being competent enough in fighting through hand-to-hand combat and the second being Alibaba fearing I may actually maim him if he gave me a weapon. However, I was willing to bet on the latter being the real reason.

I felt frustrated with myself because in the span of those two hours, I gained nothing. But I didn't want Alibaba to fret over me, so I simply gave him a small smile and took his hands in my own.

Alibaba helped me up and once I stood on my own, I dusted away the dirt and sand from my dress and my legs.

"I didn't put much of a fight earlier." I noted sadly.

"It's only your first day." Alibaba said. "Besides, I think if you really did learn how to control your strength and fight properly, you would definitely become stronger than me and Nihlan."

I was sure that Alibaba added _'Although you're plenty strong on your own now…'_ afterwards, but I dismissed that.

The training session went with me just running around and trying to land a hit on Alibaba. At first, I thought that it would be easy enough especially since I had already hit him on numerous occasions (albeit accidentally and completely unintentionally). I was proven wrong because during the entire session I hadn't even managed to even get close to Alibaba. Perhaps it was because I didn't know how to move my body, but it was also because Alibaba was extremely agile and light on his feet. He had taught me some beginning stances and advised me during the fight himself, but nothing helped in getting me close enough to land a hit on him.

I let out a frustrated sigh and pushed my hair behind my ear. Then again, I had to admit that Alibaba was right; it was only the first day and the start of my training, so I shouldn't push myself too hard and expect results right away.

"Do you have any work planned for tomorrow?" I asked him as I tried to tame my hair by patting it down.

"Yeah, but they're mostly heavy lifting labor." Alibaba said. "The other carts already left for shipment and now we're pretty much clear from duty for a while. I volunteered for over-time though."

I hummed. "I don't have much work planned out, but I guess I'll go shopping and check our supplies."

Alibaba smiled and patted my head. "You worry too much about that! Just a little sun-dried fish and water is enough for a man."

I rolled my eyes jokingly and started to walk back into the city. Alibaba followed and walked beside me in silence. There wasn't much to talk about, especially since our lives were very much dull. Low class workers such as ourselves never had much time to find enjoyment, although my own reasons were simply because I had yet to find out what I enjoyed doing. Working and learning to fight was necessary, but I didn't know if there was anything out there that could help me pass the time especially since I didn't help out much. Even with Alibaba's protests against Frujeel's own close-minded arrangement of having me work for only a few days a week, it was still how things went.

The comforting silence between us suddenly vanished when Alibaba started to speak.

"Miriam, I want to talk to you about something."

Sending him a questioning glance, I silently urged him to go on. His gaze caught mine but quickly shifted away as if he couldn't bring the topic out. He squirmed nervously as he walked and rubbed the back of his neck— a habit I noticed he would do whenever he would bring up bad news or an uncomfortable topic.

"Your nightmares…"

I felt my throat constrict and turned away from Alibaba immediately.

"You have to talk to me about them eventually! I know you're scared, but I don't know what to do Miriam." Alibaba said worriedly. "I try to wake you every time you have these nightmares, but now they're taking a toll on you! You might not notice it, but you've gotten really heavy eyebags and you've been really distracted lately too."

I said nothing, opting to keep quiet about the topic. When a few moments passed without a word from me, Alibaba sigh in frustration and said no more.

"I wish you would trust me." I heard him mutter under his breath.

I didn't respond. It hurt me personally that Alibaba thought I didn't trust him, but that truly wasn't the case. The nightmares were frightening and so vivid that sometimes they felt more like memories instead of simple dreams created by my own mind. I had no idea who I was and was no way closer to figuring myself out than Alibaba was in trying to understand me. Talking about my nightmares out loud made them feel more real, and I didn't need anymore validation or proof that those terrible nightmares really were happening. It got to the point where I refuse to even sleep, often choosing to stay awake as long as possible and distracting myself during the night. While my lack of sleep didn't burden me from working, it did really cause me to withdraw more and away from Alibaba.

The rest of the walk was no long surrounded by comforting silence, but a tense atmosphere of awkwardness. Still, we refused to speak with one another. Whether it was our own stubbornness about the topic or simply not wanting to make the other uncomfortable anymore— I was unsure of. What I was sure of, however, was that Alibaba was going to bring this up again.

We reached our home in silence. As Alibaba unlocked and opened the door, I walked inside and slipped off my shoes nearby the door. I then walked onto the rug that we had both recently dusted out and sat down. Only when I felt myself sitting comfortably did I realize the aching soreness that my thighs and arms were feeling from exerting my body earlier, and I cringed slightly when I twisted my body incorrectly.

"I'm going to head out for a while."

I momentarily forgot my pain and looked up in surprise as I saw Alibaba walking towards the door once again. Before I could even say anything to stop him, he already shut the door behind him.

I stayed frozen for a few moments before letting out a frustrated sigh.

I glanced around the small room. Even though it had roughly been around four months since I've met Alibaba, the place had already become my very own home. It didn't matter that we usually had food shortages and often struggled in trying to keep warm during the cold nights because being with Alibaba made it all better. His jokes, his personality, and his outlook in every situation always made me felt better.

Was hiding my feelings truly the better choice? I knew that it wasn't, but something was holding me back. Every single time I felt confident enough to confront Alibaba, something gets caught up in my throat and a barrage of horrible images flash through my mind. They were so terrifying and powerful enough to silence any kind of attempt to try and open up, which was so frustrating because I honestly wanted to confide in Alibaba about it.

But then I started thinking if I was just giving excuses to myself. Did I really let those flashbacks stop me, or was I afraid of something else?

I released a sigh as I slowly rose up to my knees and crawled towards a box inside the room. As I raised the lid, I snuck in my arm inside and tried to feel my way inside the box. My arm brushed against several objects inside, but what I grabbed what I was looking for, I pulled my arm out and returned the lid of the box properly on top.

I opened my palm and revealed a small brown sack that I had been using to keep my savings. There were barely any inside, especially since I made less than what Alibaba makes, but they were savings nonetheless.

' _Maybe I could use some funds to cook something special tonight.'_ I thought to myself as I stared at the small sack.

I counted the coins inside my bag and heaved out a frustrated groan. They were barely enough to purchase anything!

I felt my emotions flood through me and my eyes start to water. However, I shook my head and squeezed my eyes closed before any tears could properly form. It was bad enough that I was weak enough to stay silent about my problems- crying about it would definitely not improve my situation.

Inhaling and exhaling deeply, I tried to calm myself down. Even if I did buy something special for tonight, it's not like it would make things better.

This time as the tears pooled around my eyes, I didn't bother to stop them from streaming down my cheeks. I looked at my lap and watched as each drop turned my dress a shade darker.

Why couldn't I just say anything? Why couldn't I just become stronger so I won't have to keep facing Alibaba like this? Why am I so weak? What happened to me that made me so vulnerable? Who was responsible? Why can't I remember? Why can't I remember?!

Those thoughts continued to echo inside of my head. They started to grow louder and louder in volume and soon I fell on my side, my hands clutching the sides of my head.

"Stop… stop!" I whimpered out pathetically as the voices in my head escalated into screams. It was as if their voices were being drowned out or muffled, but the noise was still loud and clearly resounding in my head.

Before I knew it, I started banging the side of my head on the box near me.

"Shut up! Shut up!" I yelled out desperately.

The voices were now unbearable, yelling as loudly as they could.

' _Why me?! Why me?! Why not everybody else?! Why am I the only like this?! Why am I the only one who doesn't know?! WHY ME?! WHY ME?!'_

"Miriam! Stop it! What are you doing?!"

I felt a pair of hands grab my shoulders and forcibly halt me from moving. The voices suddenly silenced themselves and I found myself slowly coming back to reality.

"Miriam! Hey, open your eyes!"

Listening to the voice's stern yet worried tone, I slowly opened my eyes. My eyesight was blurry due to my tears, but it cleared and pieced together as a familiar man stood in front of me.

"N-Nihlan?" I whispered in shock.

His eyes were wide as he stared at me in fear and relief. His grip loosened and his large hands came to settle right atop of my own just by the sides of my face. I felt his thumbs knead my fingers and the back of my hand, slowly encouraging the tight grip I had on myself to slowly loosen.

"There, there." He hushed in comfort, taking my hands in his own. "Calm down."

I didn't notice that I was still sobbing as I continued to inhale and exhale erratically with my tears still slipping down my cheeks. Shaking my head from side to side, I started to speak frantically.

"I d-don't understand- I don't know!" I sobbed out. "I don't know, I'm so sorry! I can't- I don't-!"

Before I could speak anymore, Nihlan enveloped me in a hug. His arms wrapped around my shoulders and one of his hands started to rub the back of my head in a comforting manner. His chin was directly above my head and I found myself lying against his chest.

"Miriam, please." he said slowly. "I don't understand, but calm down now. Just calm down."

I couldn't think straight, but one thing was certain; Nihlan was here, but Alibaba wasn't.

* * *

 **(-Nihlan's POV-)**

Nihlan stared at the sobbing girl in front of him, unable to stop himself feeling frustrated and angered. Where the hell was Alibaba when he needed her?

Her sobs didn't seem to be stopping any time soon, but he didn't mind. He silently thanked himself for going out on a walk to check on both Alibaba and Miriam today, although his original plan was to invite him to go out drinking. While this wasn't how he imagine he would be spending his free night out, he couldn't find it inside himself to complain.

He continued to soothe her- rubbing her back in comfort and simply holding her wrapped in his arms. It was painful listening to her cry, especially since the only words that left her lips were apologies and pleas for forgiveness.

When he first met Miriam, he knew instantly that she was a slave. He always was disgusted by the concept of slavery, but admittedly never did anything to take action against it. Qishan had several people in the higher class that owned slaves. They were often found around the city, walking around in humiliation as they obeyed their master's wishes against their will with chains around their ankles and wrists. Sometimes they were even subjected to public punishment, being tortured even in front of the crowd.

Never had Nihlan wanted to protest against anything so bad, but who was he to stop them? A simple blacksmith that provided those terrible human beings the very tools used to confine and hurt other people. What right had he to save the very people he had unwillingly caged as well?

But when he saw the chance to finally free a slave, he did it with no hesitation. Sure the pay originally was large and he got a huge scolding with his father when he returned with no cash, but he didn't care. When he saw Miriam, he knew the only action to take. He felt a responsibility towards her, at least that's what he tells himself. In reality, it was simply because Miriam was the only person he could feel clear his conscience of being unable to help anybody else. In a way, it was just due to his selfishness that he still hung around.

It didn't mean that he didn't care for her at all. No, he grew to care and admire for the girl he had helped save. She was such a sweet girl, naive and plagued by her past, but had pure intentions. All she wanted was to move on with her life and pay back Alibaba to show her gratitude towards him by working alongside him and show him that his efforts weren't wasted on her.

With a sigh, he simply settled himself in a more comfortable position and leaned back against the wall. Miriam's body followed his own, curling up against his chest. This position made him flush slightly, but he shook those thoughts away. This was no time to think about how he was holding one of the most beautiful girls he had met tightly against him, especially in a less than likely favored situation.

He wasn't one to complain though.

* * *

 **(-Miriam's POV-)**

To say that things were awkward would be a huge understatement.

Communicating with Alibaba was like trying to have a conversation underwater; you think your words can be understood by the other party so you try to speak, but in the end you swallow your words down and choke on it because of the atmosphere.

That was exactly how everything was with Alibaba. Clipped responses were replies to questions and conversations became non-existent. While I knew that I should do something to alleviate the tension between the both of us, I had no idea how to fix thing between us. Even when I thought I knew Alibaba, there were still aspects of his personality that I couldn't understand.

Working with him was no problem. We often were assigned to do separate tasks and duties when in work, but even the other workers were wondering what happened between us. Some teased us that it was a "lover's quarrel", which on a normal day I would have been embarrassed and protested against it, but I simply let it slide.

Some of the other workers saw this as a chance to start flirting with me and tried to ask me out, but I refused all of their advances. A few men were persistent and tried to follow me back home, which definitely frightened me, so I often found myself walking all the way to Nihlan's shop just to feel much safer.

Admittedly, I had sought Nihlan's company much more nowadays. With my strained relationship with Alibaba, I had nobody else to speak to. While I was in no way a social person, I still longed to be in somebody's company rather than to feel lonely. It was a terrible and suffocating feeling to be alone.

I was careful in approaching Nihlan at first. I didn't want for things to seem like I only sought his company because I wanted to replace him with Alibaba, but because I trusted him and that I knew that he was a good person. Also, it seemed that other men were intimidated with him and would stray away from me when they see him around.

"Hey Miriam, think you can hand me that hammer over there?"

Looking to my side, I let my eyes glance over the room. I found the said item near the molding area and walked towards it before picking it up with ease.

"If it's too heavy, just tell me so I can-"

Before Nihlan could finish his sentence, I raised my hand gripping the hammer and pushed it to his face.

"Oh." He said dumbly before taking the said hammer with both his hands. He grunted slightly as he tried to hover it with difficulty.

"Ugh, I hate it when we need to mold armor." He said through gritted teeth as he raised the heavy hammer. With another grunt, he brought it down on a piece of hot metal which made a loud banging noise as it landed on it.

"Is it really that difficult?" I asked in curiosity as I walked towards a random table inside the room. I turned around and hopped backwards, sitting on its edge and allowing my legs to hang freely as I continued to watch him work.

Nihlan panted and paused, swiping off some sweat that formed on his forehead away with his arm before turning to me.

"Well, not all soldiers share the same body type." he explained as he gestured to the metal he was molding. "Nor do they have the same head shape. It's hard to try and form them, especially if the batch orders of armor have little differences in measurements. Repeating the process over and over isn't fun either."

I tilted my head to the side. "Then why did you become a blacksmith? Were you forced by your father?"

Nihlan looked surprised for a moment before letting out a laugh.

"No, it's nothing like that." he said reassuringly as he turned back to continue his work. "I just have a knack for doing these kind of things, and I actually do enjoy them. I just dislike making weapons of war and violence, that's all."

I felt a smile slowly come up my lips as I watched him work. It was an unfortunate situation, really, but I knew I at least could relate to being forced to do something you really didn't want to do.

"Anyways," Nihlan suddenly said just as he brought down his hammer onto the metal he was forging. He lowered the hammer by the side of the work table and grabbed a pair of metal tongs from the side. Using the tool to hold the piece of metal he was forging, he then dipped it into a large bucket of water, causing a large hissing sound to come up from within it.

He then raised his sight towards me and felt uneasy as I assumed what the next topic of conversation would be about.

"What are you planning on doing about Alibaba?" he asked as he shrugged off his gloves and cast them to the side. As the gloves fell carelessly onto a wooden tool box next to him, he placed on hand on his hip and the other on top of another wooden table nearby. Even though his look was nothing close to threatening, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with the topic suddenly being brought up.

I looked away, trying my best to act passive and uncaring.

"There's really nothing to do." I muttered lowly. "He wouldn't talk to me no matter what I try to do. Even when it's work related or something about the house and we have to discuss it properly, he'll just give some sort of excuse and run out the house."

What response I expected to come from him was definitely not the sound of his own chuckle. I snapped my head back at him, affronted that he found the discomfort in my situation even the least bit amusing.

"Why are you laughing? This isn't funny." I grumbled, admittedly pouting childishly.

Still with a smile on his face, Nihlan just shook his head.

"No, it's not funny, but you both are so stubborn." he noted, pointing a finger at me and turning around to start fixing up his tools.

"I'm not stubborn!" I said strongly as I swung my legs forward from the edge of the table to stand properly on the floor. "At least I'm trying to talk to him- he's simply just avoiding me and the problem."

Nihlan turned to me and raised his eyebrow, as if he was confused with my own words.

"But isn't that exactly what you're doing?" he asked nonchalantly as he used a rag to wipe the grease and excess oil off his hammer. "You're not telling him anything- or me for that matter- and you expect him to be open to you? Understanding somebody and being understood is a two-way thing, Miriam."

Instead of replying, I just huffed. I knew what I was doing was equally unfair to Alibaba, but I wasn't ready to talk about it yet. It just didn't feel right for me to simply jsut say it, even though I desperately want to do so. My throat clogs up at the mere thought of even confiding in anybody about my nightmares. How would they react? And even if they do take it in positively, would it even help stop them? I hardly understood myself or remember who I used to be before Alibaba saved me, so how could I try and understand anything else about myself?

A sigh snapped me from my own thoughts and I looked up to realize that it came from Nihlan.

"Listen Miriam," he started as he finished cleaning off his tools. "I get that everything is still confusing and you're trying your best to do everything you can and move on, but running away from a problem won't help you. If you want to move forward, you need to look back too and learn to trust others. After all, you didn't get this far without Alibaba's help right?"

Meekly, I nodded in agreement.

"Then what's wrong with asking for more help?" he asked as he gripped his tool kit and bent down, placing them on the floor near his filing area. "There's no shame in being dependent on somebody, especially if you're still trying to pick up pieces of yourself you know. A person is a person because of everybody else's influence, and depriving yourself from growing because you're too scared to face the past won't help anybody."

I stared at Nihlan, slightly shocked and impressed by his words.

I looked down, letting his words dawn onto me. What he said was true; I've only known Alibaba and myself for half a year, so everything really was overwhelming. Discovering everything about myself and learning new things was- as thrilling as it truly is- terrifying, especially since there was so much about my own life that I didn't remember nor understand. I tried to do things on my own, solely focused on repaying and showing gratitude to Alibaba that I completely forgot that I couldn't possibly achieve these things on my own.

"Hey Miriam? Do you understand what I'm saying?"

I blinked and looked up, realizing that Nihlan had walked up in front of me. He was looking at me expectantly, as if waiting for my answer.

With a soft and reassuring smile, I nodded sincerely. Pink dusted his cheeks and he looked away, embarrassed.

I had no idea why.

Several thoughts raced my head all at once. I felt like my newly found revelation was definitely helpful and that Nihlan definitely deserved more than just my gratitude, however I also realized that there was still unfinished business present that needed to be attended to.

It took a few moments to decide on a plan of action and reflect on whether this truly was the best course of action, but then it was final.

"Nihlan, do you know how to fight?"

* * *

"Wait, what do you mean he's gone?"

Frujeel had the audacity to look sheepish and nervous, to which I would've felt satisfied, if only for the circumstances.

"Alibaba was assigned to deliver some goods along with the others near the edge of the eastern border of the plateau." Frujeel explained. "They were ordered for an anonymous group, although I can only expect what kind of people they'll be expecting with what kind of armories and weapons we'll be delivering."

I was feeling both frustrated and worried. Qishan was located in the desert part of the Tenzan plateau, so reaching the eastern border would definitely take time to get to and from there. Adding to the fact that Fruhjeel had basically implied that Qishan supplied armories to an anonymous mercenary group and the civil war breaking out in the Kou border where the eastern border was…

"Miriam, he was adamant about not taking you." Fruhjeel said.

I snapped my head towards him in alarm and narrowed my eyes. If I had known better, I would've detected a hint of fear in the old man's eyes.

"Why not?" I asked sharply, unable to contain the irritation from my tone.

"W-well, he just said that the trip would be too dangerous for you." the old man stuttered out. Seemingly intimidated by my sudden shift in mood, his eyes darted around him until he landed on something towards his right.

"Ah, it looks like I need to return to transcribing the records." He said as nervous sweat rolled down the side of his head.

I raised my eyebrow and was about to protest, but Fruhjeel had already piped out an 'Excuse me!' before shuffling away from me and running towards his previous post and doing well in avoiding my gaze the entire time.

Huffing hotly, I crossed my arms. In doing this, a few strands of my hair fell across my face and I blew them away instead of caressing them properly with my hand. Why on earth didn't Alibaba tell me he was going to leave? I could understand that we were both frustrated with each other, but that didn't erase the fact I still cared about him.

But as I thought things through, my shoulders slumped downwards and I let out a small sigh. Things were getting difficult, especially since the both of us were too stubborn to say anything first. If anything, maybe the time he would be gone off into a delivery would prove good for the both of us.

I looked up at the sky and noted that it was already well into the mid-afternoon of the day. Despite the scorching heat of the sun, I felt myself smile a bit as a rush of excitement coursed through me. I turned around and quickly ran back into the deeper parts of the city.

With the time I've spent in Qishan, I've learned to find my own way in and out towards certain places in the small town. Even though the architecture was very complicated, it was easy to figure out shortcuts and secret roads and compartments. I stumbled across them when I was trying to find a way to avoid using the main street to get to Nihlan's place since I usually see a lot of men and even slave traders active in business there. It was sickening, and truthfully a small part of myself will always be afraid of those sorts of people, so I learned how to navigate my way through the city. Admittedly I got lost a few times, but the end result was worth it.

Walking through a few twists and turns in a smaller part of the city, I managed to get to Nihlan's blacksmith shop in just a few. I didn't even realize I was panting until I reached the back door, so I took a few moments to myself to calm down and wipe some sweat from the sides of my face away.

However, before I could knock, the door swung open. I was taken aback, but I managed to step back just in time to avoid being hit by the wooden door.

Behind the door stood a muscular man, even more so than Nihlan himself. His skin was tanned, but seemed to be aged with the lack of warmth in them. He easily towered above me, being almost 2 heads taller. He had a mop of ashen gray hair, though it was cut short and cleanly. The same could not be said for the growing scruff around his jaw and the wisps of gray hair peeking from underneath his nose.

I swallowed, knowing fully well who he was and took another hesitant step backwards.

"Good afternoon Kahlan." I said politely, bowing my head slightly.

As if only noticing my presence then, his sharp gray eyes landed on mine. I felt nervous sweat forming once more around my forehead as he continued to stare at me. It wasn't even the fact that he was taller and much larger than me that intimidated me, but the fact that he always held a permanent scowl on his face and that he had a strong and firm persona. It didn't really help that his customers were always on the receiving end of his blunt and harsh words. There were even people saying that some grown men have cried in his presence, but that was a rumor yet to be proven.

"You." he stated in a bored tone. "Here for my brat?"

I nodded once, still a bit unsure on whether I should say something or not, but a moment later I had no need to. From behind, Nihlan popped up and slid from behind his father and towards my side.

"Sorry about that Miriam, I had to finish cleaning up back there." Nihlan said with a small smile. When he turned towards his father, his smile vanished and a completely blank look overtook his face. "I'll just be with Miriam for a my entire break. I'll be back by sundown."

The only response Kahlan gave was a grunt before he turned back to walk inside the shop and slamming the door behind him. The loud noise made me flinch and I stared at the same door for a couple of seconds before staring back at Nihlan.

"You're really different from your father." I noted.

Nihlan turned to me and seemed to appreciate what I said.

"I hope so." he said as he crossed his arms. "I would rather be myself than somebody like him."

I stayed quiet, not knowing how to respond. I was unsure of how parent-children relationships worked, but it felt uneasy hearing somebody speak ill of their own parent. Even with those thoughts clouding my head, I simply stayed silent.

"Anyways, are you ready for today?" Nihlan asked as he shifted the topic.

The atmosphere changed entirely and I felt a confident smile come up my face as I gave him a nod. Nihlan gave me a toothy grin before walking away from me, heading towards the shed behind the shop and grabbing the axe that laid on the side of a barrel.

"You better be!" he said as he raised the axe and swung it around, showing off his skills and expertise in carrying the said weapon. It was not a regular axe used for chopping wood, but a customized double-edged battle axe that I could only assume he made himself. The handle was made out of lightweight metal, but had a leather grip around the lower part of the base. The metal blades were painted deep red and designed with silver lines, but the battle aesthetic did not fool anybody from its dangerously sharpened edges that gleamed as the light reflected off it.

Despite the weapon gleaming dangerously as Nihlan wielded it, I felt no fear at all. Instead of quivering, I turned to walk towards the same shed Nihlan had picked his axe from and took a pair of dual swords and gripped them tightly. Admittedly, it felt awkward to hold them since I haven't gotten use to wielding them properly yet, but I refused to show my uncertainty and masked it with a face filled with determination.

"Try not to go too easy on me please," I said as I raised the right sword in front of me. Just as Nihlan showed off his abilities as a display of expertise, I decided to show him my own aura of confidence by pointing my sword directly at him.

Seeing this, Nihlan himself smirked and swung his axe downwards.

"Wasn't planning to."

* * *

 **[A/N:] First update of 2019! How time flies. Just a little bit more pushing and I'll be finished with my finals and I can finally hibernate and make up for the sleep I've lost in the last year.**

 **I intentionally wanted to update sometime between Christmas, but I had some family obligations and personal problems to deal with. Unfortunately, my laptop was also malfunctioning and being a total uncooperative ass which explains why this update was later than intended.**

 **Now for the responses for the reviews!**

 **Guest:** _Thank you for your lovely review! Miriam will definitely go through some in-depth development, though I'm excited for the chapter where the plot finally starts. Hopefully we'll get there soon._

 **Yoruhime:** _Thank you for your lovely words, I truly appreciate it. As for the pairing, I won't answer that since I don't want to think of having to pair anybody romantically yet. It seems premature for me to do so, but let's see where this story goes, yes?_

 **Thank you everybody! Have a lovely day.**

 **~ Irene (01-16-19)**


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